


Barbed Wire and Bouqets

by CUKat23



Series: Opposites Attract [2]
Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Barrel Racer Octavia, Bull Rider Lexa, City Girl Clarke, Clexa, F/F, Fluff, Horses, Lexa is a gentlewoman, Love, Oklahoma, Romance, West - Freeform, Western, bull rider lincoln, bulls, country, farm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-21
Updated: 2019-03-13
Packaged: 2019-03-22 02:49:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 26,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13754679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CUKat23/pseuds/CUKat23
Summary: Welcome to the sequel of "How Bout Them Cowgirls."  Follow Clarke and Raven to Lexa's home town of Cushing, Oklahoma and see the girls learn about life on a farm in an adventure filled summer and fall in love all over again with our favorite bull riding cowgirl.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The outpouring of love I received on the last story in this series was seriously overwhelming and I couldn't leave these characters like that and I didn't feel like you all wanted me to so I have decided to reemerge myself in this world and play some more. The first one is short and just a little teaser of things to come but expect this one to be a little longer and to get a lot more interaction and fluff and even some angst this time. Enjoy :)

“Clarke, have you seen…” The rest of Raven’s sentence faded off as she presumably entered her bedroom on the opposite side of the apartment. 

Clarke rolled her eyes at her friend’s scrambling as she tucked her toothbrush into the small makeup bag lying on her bed.  “Your what?” she yelled back.

“My red dress,” Raven huffed, stepping into the blonde’s room, looking a bit disheveled.  “I wanted to take it, just in case you know?”

“I doubt you’ll need your ‘sexy club dress’ out there,” Clarke chuckled at her friend who looked back at her disapprovingly.  “But I think I saw it in the very back of your closet a couple weeks ago when I was looking for my flats.”

“Awesome!” Raven said excitedly and ran out of the room to check her closet.

“Just hurry up! We have to be at the airport in an hour and a half!”  Clarke yelled after the girl.  She shook her head and went back to double checking her already packed bag.  She was starting to feel the nerves overtake the excitement of seeing Lexa for the first time in two months. 

After they first met, a year ago, at the rodeo that Raven had dragged her to, the two women had exchanged numbers and promised to keep in touch.  Texting turned into phone calls, which turned into FaceTime dates, which turned into Lexa detouring through Nashville whenever they rode anywhere close to the Tennessee border.  Finally, after about six months, Lexa had asked Clarke to be her girlfriend.  The blonde, of course, accepted but it had been tough developing a new relationship with Lexa constantly on the road and Clarke trying to maintain her grades in a particularly grueling sophomore year of college.  There was also the issue of Lexa’s home being all the way in Oklahoma, but the two were absolutely infatuated with each other and had agreed that they wanted to try to make things work despite the distance, so with summer rolling around, Lexa had decided to take the summer off and had invited Clarke and Raven to spend the summer in Oklahoma on her family farm.  Raven wasn’t sold at first but when Octavia had told her that she was also spending the summer with Lexa and Lincoln, the Latina couldn’t get her plane ticket bought fast enough. 

The relationship between Raven and Octavia was a little more complicated than that of Lexa and Clarke.  The two clearly liked each other a lot and were in almost constant contact with one another, but Raven wasn’t willing to commit to anything more serious with the distance or so she said.  Clarke had hypothesized that Raven was fearful of commitment but Raven had waved her off saying that she had a high libido and couldn’t be tied down to someone that was hours away at all times.  Neither commented further on the fact that Raven’s date’s and one night stands had dropped significantly since the night of the rodeo, a year ago. 

“Raven! Are you almost ready?” Clarke yelled through the apartment as she plopped her rolling suitcase on the floor and slung her back pack over one shoulder, satisfied that she had packed everything. 

“Uhhh…yeah!” she heard Raven yell back from her bedroom.  “I think so,” the brunette said, exiting her room with a suitcase similar in size to Clarke’s and a black duffel bag thrown over her opposite shoulder.

“Do you have everything?” Clarke asked.

Raven looked to her bag thoughtfully, “Hot outfits, things to sleep in, other clothes, snacks, toothbrush…” Raven ticked off on each of her fingers.

“Something to do on the plane so you don’t drive me crazy?” Clarke asked.

Raven patted the duffel bag, “IPod, charger, laptop, books, snacks, etc.”  She looked smugly at Clarke.  “I’m completely prepared, I didn’t forget anything mom.”

Clarke shook her head as Raven made her way past her and to the front door, “Raven?”

“Hmm?” the girl hummed, turning to look at Clarke.

“Did you pack underwear?” she asked knowingly.

Raven looked down at her bag and looked pensive for a moment, “Shit.”  Clarke laughed as the brunette made her way back to her bedroom with her suitcase.

A few minutes later, they both decided they had everything they needed and made their way out to Raven’s Jeep, loading their bags into the back.  They made a quick stop by the men’s dorms to drop off their apartment key with their friend Monty who had promised to water their plants and keep an eye on things while they were gone.  Finally, they were in route to the airport.  Traffic wasn’t bad so they made it to the airport fairly early and their security screenings went by surprisingly quick.  They waited patiently to board onto their flight and once they were on and settled into their seats, after a brief argument over who got the window seat, Clarke pulled out her phone to send Lexa a text.

Clarke: “Hey babe, we just got boarded and they’re about to make us turn our phones off.  We have one layover in Dallas Ft. Worth but it’s only to change flights.  They’re still showing our landing time as 5:30pm in Tulsa. I can’t wait to see you. XO”

She waited just long enough to receive a reply from Lexa.

Lex: “I’ll be there with bells on darling. I’ll be the one in the cowboy hat in case you forgot what I looked like ;)”

Clarke smiled softly at the teasing message from Lexa and flipped her phone onto airplane mode, glancing over to see Raven chewing on her lip roughly as she checked her phone again, presumably for a text from Octavia. 

“Still haven’t heard from Octavia?” Clarke asked the girl.

“Oh, no, I was just feeling like I had forgotten to text someone,” Raven lied smoothly, putting her phone in airplane mode and tucking it into the pocket of her sweat pants.

“Mmhmm…” Clarke hummed.  “You’ll see her in a few hours,” she said, laying her head back gently into the head rest of her seat as the pilot came over the intercom and asked everyone to buckle their seatbelts.

Raven didn’t respond but just nodded softly and picked up the puzzle book she had brought with her, flipping it open to the Sudoku puzzle that she had left half finished.  She would deny the fact that she was dying to see the perky brunette until her death bed, but in her head, the next few hours couldn’t pass fast enough.

Clarke decided she was done pushing her friend to talk about her feelings seeing as it was going to be a long flight and any amount of time next to a grumpy Raven was too much.  She closed her eyes and sighed, ready for the plane to touch down in Tulsa so she could be in her cowgirl’s arms again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Raven and Clarke finally arrive in Oklahoma and our favorite girl's are back together again. I can't!
> 
> Thank you all for your kind words and excitement about the last chapter. It makes my heart happy that you all are enjoying this fic as much as I am enjoying writing it. I kind of love this world! As always, I left you some references in the end notes :) 
> 
> Enjoy!

The flight was uneventful and rather boring, but luckily Clarke had been able to nap most of the way.  Raven kept to herself for the most part, working on her puzzles or playing games on her phone.  Their layover had went smoothly but had only allowed for about twenty minutes of time off the plane, so by the time they landed in Tulsa, both girls were anxious to get out of the crowded cabin of the plane. 

They exited the plane and entered the busy airport, both stretching their cramped limbs. 

Clarke pulled out her phone and took it off airplane mode, reading the few texts she had received.  One from her mom, telling her to be careful and to call her when she landed.  One from Monty, promising to keep Jasper far away from her and Raven’s apartment.  One from her mom’s boyfriend, Marcus, reminding her to please call her mom when she lands because she was “worried sick” already.  And finally, the one she was looking for, a text from the girl with the piercing green eyes and heart melting smile.

Lexa: “I’m here.  I’ll be waiting right outside baggage claim.”

Seeing the text and realizing how close she was to being with the brunette again, her heart began to race.  Clarke rushed Raven towards baggage claim while the Latina grumbled quietly about being pushed through the airport.  Clarke’s heart was pounding excitedly as she watched bag after bag go by that wasn’t hers or Raven’s.  Finally, right before she was about to go harass the attendant, she spotted her suitcase sliding through the big flaps at the end of the conveyer, Raven’s only a couple bags behind.  She grabbed hers off first, sitting it at her feet and then pulled Raven’s off the line, shoving it into the taller girl’s hands.

She ignored Raven’s ongoing complaints about being rushed and set off to exit the baggage claim area, ready to see her favorite person in the world.  She bounced back and forth on the balls of her feet as the escalator brought them down to the main floor at a gruesomely slow pace.  Midway down, she started searching the crowd for the worn cowboy hat that she was so fond of.  Unfortunately, Clarke didn’t take into account that they were now, officially “out west” and cowboy hats seemed to be in high fashion here.  She searched the crowd and counted five white cowboy hats before she laid eyes on one she recognized immediately.  It was well worn and a bit dusty and sat on the head of the most perfect creature she had ever seen.  Lexa looked up at that moment and the two locked eyes, Clarke breaking out in a huge grin that Lexa immediately mirrored. 

The excitable blonde basically shoved a couple out of her way as she reached the bottom of the escalator and launched herself into Lexa’s arm, the taller woman lifting her off the ground in the embrace.

“I’ve missed you so much,” Clarke mumbled as she tucked her head under Lexa’s hat and buried her face in her neck, taking in the woodsy smell that had long since faded from the hoodie that Lexa had left her the last time she visited. 

Lexa put the girl down on her feet and pulled her face back, refusing to disconnect her hands from Clarke’s hips.  “It was only a few weeks since the last time I was there.”

Clarke looked offended as she reached up and grabbed Lexa’s face gently, a hand on either of her cheeks, “Six weeks and it was six weeks too long.”  She kissed the brunette softly as if to prove her point.

Lexa hummed as she pulled away from the kiss, “I agree.”

“Oh, get a room,” Raven announced playfully as she finally walked up to the two women, dragging her luggage behind her.

“It’s good to see you too, Raven,” Lexa drawled as she pulled the blonde around to her side, leaving her hand wrapped tightly around the shorter girl’s waist.

“Yeah, thanks for inviting me.”  Raven seemed distracted as she looked around discreetly for anyone that might have tagged along with Lexa to pick them up.

Lexa noticed though and winked at Clarke. “Octavia hasn’t arrived from Texas yet,” she announced for Raven’s benefit, but the Latina apparently wasn’t ready to give up her act yet.

“Oh, Octavia’s coming?” She lied in a not at all convincing manner.

Clarke rolled her eyes at her friend in exasperation, “Oh, come on, Raven.”

Raven played dumb and Lexa chuckled.  She grabbed Clarke’s suitcase and picked it up by the handle on the side with her right hand, her left one, still wrapped around Clarke, unwilling to let go.  “If we can beat some of the traffic out, we’ll make it back to the ranch before dark and I can show ya’ll around before supper,” Lexa said, leading them out of the airport.

They arrived at the truck after a short walk and Lexa tossed both suitcases into the bed of Lincoln’s big, blue, Dodge 2500, before opening the passenger side door for Clarke.  She waited for the blonde to get settled and then closed the door, stopping to watch Raven struggle to climb into the truck. 

“Oh no, I’m fine,” Raven said dryly.  “I don’t need any help at all.”

Lexa chuckled at Raven’s sarcasm and gave the girl a small push, helping her the rest of the way into the truck.  She closed Raven’s door as well before rounding the truck and gracefully climbing into the driver’s seat.  She was met with a kiss from Clarke as she turned to back out and was enjoying the intensity of it until she heard Raven clear her throat in the back seat, effectively killing the moment. 

“Sorry,” she said genuinely as she looked at Raven in the back seat who just shrugged.  She looked grumpy and she hoped that Octavia’s surprise, waiting at the ranch, would improve her mood. 

“Listen, I really want you to bang away Clarke’s grumpy attitude for the past six weeks as much as she does, but just wait until I’m hearing’s distance away, okay?” Raven said with a smile that seemed as much loving as it was teasing. 

‘Raven!” Clarke scolded but the blush on her cheeks gave away that Raven’s statement, while crude, hadn’t been entirely wrong.  She cleared her throat, “So, who’s truck is this?  I’ve never seen it before.”

“Oh, this is Lincoln’s truck.  We don’t really take it out on the road.  It’s nice but not practical for road trips really.  He’s got so much extra stuff in it that it gets awful fuel mileage.  Lincoln’s always been a bit of a gearhead and this is his baby,” Lexa explained as she expertly maneuvered the truck through Tulsa traffic. 

“If it’s his baby, why are you in it?” Clarke questioned.

“Something isn’t running right on my truck.  We were coming back from Montana last week and it wasn’t shifting right.  Lincoln’s working on it today so he lent me his truck to come pick ya’ll up.”

“Well that was nice of him.  Remind me to thank him.  I don’t know that I would’ve been able to wait another couple hours on a bus before seeing you,” Clarke said, interlocking the fingers on her left hand with Lexa’s right. 

“I wouldn’t have let that happen babe.  I would’ve ridden here on horse back if I had too,” Lexa said honestly and was rewarded with a soft kiss on the cheek from Clarke.

“You’re seriously something out of a cheesy Lifetime movie,” Raven heckled from the backseat, though despite her goading, she was extremely happy for her best friend.  She hadn’t seen Clarke this happy since they met. 

The rest of the ride passed without much excitement.  They rode mostly in quiet with the soothing sounds of country music wafting from the speakers in the truck.  On occasion, Lexa would point out a landmark or a house or a building and tell them a story about it. 

They had ridden for a little less than an hour when Lexa passed a sign welcoming them to “Cushing, OK.  Pipeline Crossroads of the World.” They drove through an industrial area as Lexa explained the history of the town, before turning off and driving for a while into a much more rural area.  As they traveled through a tiny town that looked like it hadn’t changed much since the 1800’s, Lexa pointed out the high school, the grocery store, the movie theater, etc.  She followed a road out of town and in about fifteen minutes, she was turning onto a dirt driveway that had a large wooden arch across it.  On a sign, hanging from the middle, it read “Woods Ranch:  Horse Training and Cattle.”

They passed under the archway and followed the dirt driveway for a quarter mile, before the dust started to clear and they could make out what was in front of them.  At the end of the dirt driveway, to the left was a huge, metal building with several garage doors across the front.  In front of it, Lexa’s truck was parked with the hood up.  The other doors stood open and Clarke could make out a couple other vehicles and a few tractors.  If they had gone straight, the driveway would have dead ended into a big wood barn with a red, metal roof.  A silver silo stood tall beside it.  Instead, they veered right and pulled into a parking spot next to a large, log cabin style home.  The wood of the house and the red, metal of the roof matched the barn almost perfectly.  It had a wrap around porch that featured several rocking chairs and a two-person, bench swing at the far end. 

Clarke could see tall trees standing to the side of the house and around the back, as well as some that formed as a barrier between the house and the barn.  All of this was surrounded by a classic, wooden fence that surrounded all the yard and buildings, seeming to shut it off from the rest of the world.

Clarke was stunned as she took in her surroundings, thinking that these were the kind of surroundings that inspired beautiful paintings.  Maybe she would paint this place while she was here, so she would never forget it. 

“You okay babe?” Lexa asked with concern as Raven clambered out of the truck ungracefully.

“It’s beautiful here,” Clarke said, still taking in her surroundings.  “I can see why you love it so much.”

Lexa hummed thoughtfully, “You haven’t even seen it all yet.  The ranch has ten thousand acres.  You’ve only seen about 20 of them.”  Her following laugh was light and carefree, and it made Clarke’s insides do a backflip.  She turned and kissed the girl softly, unable to stop herself.

It was Lexa who pulled away first, albeit, begrudgingly.  “We have all summer to catch up on missed kisses,” she said.  “And trust me, I plan to, but Raven has a surprise waiting on her and I can’t wait for you to meet Uncle Gus.” 

“A surprise for Raven?” Clarke questioned.

Lexa just smirked back mysteriously.  “Yep, and I think she’s gonna love it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welllll??? What do you think??? Our girl's love each other so much! Ugh! And I kinda love crude, sassy, sarcastic, and a bit grumpy Raven but I think her surprise will cheer her up ;) Let me know what you thought about this one and what you would like to see! Your comments keep me going :) 
> 
> References: 
> 
> http://hallhall.com/ranches-for-sale/properties/kiamichilink-ranch  
> (This is the inspiration for the Ranch. Obviously I changed a few things but for the most part, this.)
> 
> https://www.google.com/search?biw=1366&bih=662&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=U3-WWvPxMa_l5gKfvYaYAg&q=blue+dodge+2500+lifted&oq=blue+dodge+2500+lifted&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0i8i30k1.3919.4959.0.5230.7.7.0.0.0.0.130.632.5j2.7.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..0.7.626...0i30k1j0i24k1.0.Ind921Vsb1s#imgrc=HxG9L1IGOH7JRM:  
> (Lincoln's truck)
> 
> https://www.google.com/search?biw=1366&bih=662&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=r3-WWuDlOsGC5wLS9ZCoDg&q=red+dodge+dually+flatbed&oq=red+dodge+dually+flatbed&gs_l=psy-ab.3...102525.104750.0.104964.8.8.0.0.0.0.97.564.8.8.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..0.1.95...0i30k1.0.VxozqTS2OCA#imgrc=MPzIpKrcWkAJxM:  
> (Lexa's truck)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took a while but here we are again and this is a long one to repay you for the long wait :) This one is a little wordy and detailed but I'm trying to build to the world for you guys. I can see it in my head and I want to make sure you can see it too :) that being said, if you have any questions about anything let me know! Which leads me into the fact that I've created a tumblr specifically for this Series! I'll be posting teasers to upcoming chapters, snippets of things that didn't make it into the fic on here, and all kinds of other stuff! Check it out! Follow it at https://www.tumblr.com/blog/barbedwireandbouqets
> 
> References in end notes!

Lexa walked around the front of the big truck quickly to open the door for Clarke.  She offered the blonde a hand and helped her gracefully hop out of the truck, her black dress boots stirring up a puff of dirt from the driveway as they met.  Clarke took a deep breath and immediately noticed how clean the air smelled here.  Growing up in California, Clarke was accustomed to there always being a hint of smog in the air.  She had been surprised that Nashville, while much cleaner than Los Angeles, still emitted a certain level of smog into the atmosphere that reminded the girl of home, but this was so far separated from that.  There was no smog or city smells in the air.  She could smell fresh cut grass, trees, and a hint of farm animals in the air. 

The sounds were much different too.  There were no car horns or sirens sounding off in the distance.  There weren’t people yelling at one another over a fender bender or a vendor on the street yelling at passersby in an attempt to sell their product.  Instead, she could hear birds chirping, cows mooing in the distance, and a soft metal clanking that she assumed was coming from the shed near Lexa’s truck.

“You okay babe?”  Lexa asked in concern towards her quiet girlfriend.

Clarke looked surprised to be pulled from her thoughts, “Oh, yeah.  I’m sorry.  This is just so much different than what I’m used to.  It’s so quiet.”

Lexa hummed her agreement thoughtfully, “Yeah, wait til’ night fall.”

Just then, the sound of a screen door slamming startled both Clarke and Raven and they turned in time to see a very large man stepping out onto the porch.  He was taller and broader than even Lincoln, making him look quite intimidating.  He was wearing boots, blue jeans, and a green button up shirt with long sleeves, that he had rolled up to his elbows.  His massive forearms were covered in fading tattoos that disappeared under the neat roll of his shirt sleeves.  As he walked closer to them, his heavy boots thumping on the wood, Clarke took the time to evaluate the man’s face.  Clarke noticed that Lincoln favored his father with his tanned skin and strong jawline.  The man’s hair was jet black and long except on the sides where he had it shaved almost to the scalp.  The part that was long was pulled back in a tight braid that hung below his shoulders.  Most of his face was covered with a long, scruffy black beard that made his expression nearly unreadable. 

He stepped off the porch and directly in front of Lexa and Clarke, looking down at the girls.  Clarke had been intimidated when he was first walking up to them but now that he was right in front of her, she noticed something else that Lincoln shared with his father:  kind eyes.  The way his gaze softened as he took in the small blonde in front of him was more akin to acceptance than judgment.

“Well are you going to introduce me to your company Lexa, or have you forgotten all your manners today?” he asked the girl in an accent that was even thicker than Lexa’s. 

“Sorry Uncle Gus.  This is my girlfriend, Clarke Griffin and her best friend, Raven Reyes,” Lexa said, indicating the girls in order of introduction.

Clarke reached out to shake Gustus hand but was surprised when the man just looked at it before gently pushing it to the side. “We hug around these parts,” he said as he pulled Clarke into a surprisingly gentle hug for his size.  “I’ve heard a lot about you Clarke,” he spoke, but his tone was more cryptic than it should have been for the words.  He turned to Raven next and offered the girl the same hug who accepted it without argument, even though she wasn’t much of a hugger.

Gustus looked towards the slowly setting sun and addressed Lexa, “We’ll have plenty of time to get introduced over dinner.  You take Clarke and show her around a bit and where she’ll be staying this summer.  I’ll take Ms. Raven here to the spare bedroom and show her around the house.  How’s that sound?” Both Clarke and Raven missed the wink and sly smile that Gustus sent Lexa’s way. 

Clarke admittedly would have been a little nervous to wander off with Gustus, but Raven had never met a stranger and simply shrugged her shoulders.  “Sounds good.  Uh…would you mind lowering my suitcase out of this monster that Lincoln calls a truck though?”

Gustus laughed at the girl and patted her on the back.   “I think I’m going to like you kid.”  He looked to Lexa who had already jumped into the back of the truck and was picking up Raven’s suitcase to hand it over to him.  He accepted the heavy suitcase like it weighed nothing and turned back towards Raven who had her hand out expectantly, ready to take the bag.  He looked back at her as if she had three heads.  “What kind of ranch do you think I run here?” he joked.  “A lady never carries her own bag.  Come on, I’ll show you around the house.”

Raven looked at Clarke with wide eyes.  “What year are we in again?” she joked.  Lexa and Clarke both laughed as Raven followed the large man onto the porch and towards the door.

Lexa had just hopped out of the truck with Clarke’s bag when she heard her uncle yelling her name.  “Yes sir?”

“Will you please tell that boy of mine to get his grease monkey hind end in this house and get cleaned up for dinner?” Gustus yelled towards her.

Lexa just laughed at her uncle, “You got it Uncle Gus.”

The man, seemingly satisfied with her response, opened the screen door and signaled for Raven to walk in first.  She gave her friend one more glance and then disappeared through the door, Gustus following right behind.

Lexa and Clarke hadn’t made it two steps from the truck when they heard Raven’s voice yelling through the house, “WHAT THE HELL!?”

“Should I go check on her?” Clarke asked Lexa worriedly.

“I think she’ll be…” just then the door to the house swung open and a wide-eyed Raven stepped out grinning from ear to ear.  A slightly shorter person with long dark hair was attached to her back with their arms wrapped around her middle.  They looked up and Clarke met eyes with Octavia who was sporting a grin that competed with the one Raven had on.

“I thought cowgirls didn’t lie.  Honor and all that crap,” Raven yelled at Lexa from the porch.  Lexa simply shrugged her shoulders and smiled at the interaction. 

“We make exceptions for unusual circumstances,” Lexa yelled back but was mostly ignored as the two girls hugged and giggled to themselves on the porch.

Clarke looked on with half amazement and half happiness as her friend was led back in the house by Octavia.  “Raven Reyes was literally giggling,” she said to her girlfriend.

“Not something that happens a lot?” Lexa asked.

“Not something that happens ever,” Clarke clarified.  She turned her attention back to her beautiful girlfriend who was leaning on the back of the truck with Clarke’s suitcase at her feet.  “Okay, you’re Uncle said to show me to where I would be staying.  Are we not staying in the house?  Does he have a ‘no significant others in the same bed’ rule or something?  Cause that’s something I wish you would have shared because I really need to be in the same bed with you this summer.”

The tall brunette just smirked at the girl’s rambling and waited for her to finish before speaking.  “Uncle Gus is old school in a lot of ways but he’s not that old school.  We’re all adults here and he’s under no pretense that we are all good little virgin cowboys and cowgirls around here.”  Clarke laughed at Lexa’s tone.  She followed as the girl took her hand and led her away from Lincoln’s truck and towards her own that was parked in front of the large metal building.

As they rounded Lexa’s truck, Clarke noticed that one of the large garage doors was open and there was soft country music playing from inside.  Lexa sat her suitcase down at the door of the building and led her inside.

“Linc?” she yelled into the large, open space.  There was enough time without a response that Clarke thought that Lexa had been mistaken thinking he was in this building but then he popped out from behind a closed door on the far side of the building. 

“Sorry, had to empty the tank,” he laughed and pointed towards the door behind him that Clarke just noticed had a sign on it, indicating it was a bathroom.  “What’s up Clarke?” he said excitedly as he made his way closer to the two girls.  “I would hug you, but I’m covered in grease from the red demon out there.”  He was wearing loose blue jeans and a white tank top that was stained black all over from the truck he had mentioned before.  His large biceps shined a bit from the sweat that had accumulated from working under the hot, Oklahoma sun. 

“Hey, don’t talk about her like that,” Lexa scolded the man.  “Any news?”

“No good news, unfortunately.  Your transmission is just about shot.  We’re lucky we made it back last week honestly,” Lincoln said as he wiped his large hands on a white towel, changing the color to gray before their eyes.  “I may be able to rebuild it, but I’ll have to go into Tulsa next week and order some parts.”

Lexa sighed, “Just order whatever you need and put it on my card.  Thanks again Lincoln.”

“No problem,” the man smiled and picked up the large wrench that was sitting on the work table beside them.  He flipped it in his hand as he walked out of the building with the two women.  As they stepped outside, and Lexa picked Clarke’s suitcase back up, he addressed the blonde.  “We’ll catch up more over dinner Clarke.  It’s good to see you again.”

“It’s good to see you too Lincoln,” Clarke smiled back.  She really liked Lincoln.  He was a good guy and had never complained when he had to drive a couple hundred miles out of the way so that Lexa could visit Clarke.  During a couple of those visits, he and Clarke had gotten the opportunity to chat some and Clarke had found that she liked talking to the man.  He was understanding and smart and gave good advice.  He was starting to become the big brother she never had.

“Speaking of dinner,” Lexa spoke up, interrupting Clarke’s inner thoughts.  “Uncle Gus says you need to get inside and get cleaned up.  Dinner will be ready soon.”  She didn’t wait to hear his response as she led Clarke across the driveway and to the large barn that sat between the house and the metal buildings.  She walked around to the side and followed a stone lined path to a door on the side of the building, propping it open for Clarke to enter.

The blonde stepped through the door and looked at her surroundings.  It looked exactly how Clarke had imagined a barn to look like on the inside.  There were several stalls positioned along the wall across from her and a large open lane down the center.  Each stall door had hooks on them with ropes hanging off them loosely.  To her immediate left was a set of stairs and to her right was an open area with hay stacked neatly. She looked to Lexa who was stepping into the barn and pulling the door closed behind her.  “Uh, babe?  Am I sleeping with the horses this summer?  Because I didn’t bring a sleeping bag and I read it can get pretty cool here at night.”

Lexa snorted at Clarke’s words and started up the stairs that Clarke had noticed when she first walked in, “Come on.”

There was about ten steps straight up, then an immediate right angle turn, and up about 4 more steps.  At the top was a wooden door that didn’t match the wood that composed the rest of the barn.  Lexa grabbed the nob and swung the door open, leading Clarke into a beautiful, fully furnished apartment.  It was small and cozy but so Lexa in every way.  The living room, dining area, and kitchen occupied the same large room.  This combined with the high, vaulted ceilings gave the space an open feel.  There was a brown, leather sectional on the far wall of the living room and a beautiful barn wood coffee table sat in front of it.  The TV was fairly large and was mounted to the wall in front of the couch.  Under it was a large shelf with a few knick knacks sat on it, including a small statue of a horse and a set of spurs that looked similar to the ones Lexa wore when she rode bulls but much older. 

On the wall, directly beside the TV, there was a closed door that Clarke assumed led to the bedroom.  She turned towards Lexa who was leaned on the door waiting for her to take it all in.  “It used to be a plain old hay loft but when Anya started college, Uncle Gus renovated it for her to stay in.  When she moved to Kansas City though, it was empty and it was getting a little crowded in the house so I convinced Uncle Gus to let me rent it from him. It’s not much but it’s plenty for me.”

“I love it,” Clarke said, still taking in her surroundings.  “It’s so…you.”

“Thanks, I think,” Lexa said with a chuckle.  “Come on, I’ll show you the bedroom.”  She led Clarke through the closed door near the TV and into a bedroom styled to match the rest of the apartment.  The canopy style bed in the center of the room drew all the attention. It was a king size bed and the tall posts were carved to look like logs, holding up the bare metal bars across the top that were intended to hold up the actual canopy.  Clarke wasn’t surprised; Lexa wasn’t really a lace canopy type of girl.  The nightstands and dressers matched the bed and took up the rest of the room save a small bookcase on the wall opposite the bed where Lexa had many books stacked in tightly.

Clarke admired the book shelf and ran her fingers along the spines of the books, reading the titles as she went.  _Of Mice and Men, To Kill a Mockingbird, Pride and Prejudice, The Great Gatsby, 1984, Lord of the Flies, Catcher in the Rye_ , so on and so forth.  “I didn’t realize you were such a fan of the classics,” Clarke stated as she turned back towards the beautiful brunette who had just hung her hat on one of the posts of the bed. 

Lexa shrugged her shoulders as she rounded the end of the bed and pulled Clarke into her arms, “I’m full of surprises.”

“Mmhmm that you are.”  Clarke reveled in the feel of having Lexa in her arms again and not having to worry about her having to load up in the middle of the night and move on to the next city. She had all summer to spend with her girlfriend and she planned on taking advantage of every second of that time.  She pulled back enough to look up at the taller girl and stood up on her tip toes, to plant a kiss on her lips.  The kiss was slow and deep and Clarke smiled into it when she heard Lexa humming her appreciation of the blonde’s soft lips.

Her hands wandered from Lexa’s back to the top of her jeans.  She sneakily drug her hands around Lexa’s hips and to the front of her belt where she started playing with the large buckle that was blocking her intended path.  She felt Lexa smirk into the kiss, always amused at Clarke’s struggle with her belts.  She let Clarke push her to the edge of the bed and sat down, never breaking the kiss.  Finally, Clarke successfully popped the buckle loose and it hung heavily from Lexa’s pants.  She groaned as Clarke expertly untucked her shirt and ran her cool hands under the bottom and along her bare abs. 

In one swift motion, she grabbed the blonde by the hips, pulled her onto her lap and then flipped her onto the bed on her back, causing the girl to squeak and, positioning herself half on the bed and half on top of Clarke.  Her left hand ghosted over Clarke’s ribs and down to the top of her pants, grazing the skin that was exposed by her shirt riding up.  She used her thumb to draw aimless designs on Clarke’s hip bone as she continued to kiss her perfect lips.  They continued this for several minutes, lazily kissing with Clarke occasionally trying to urge Lexa for more with no luck.

She groaned loudly when Lexa pulled away from the kiss and smiled at her sweetly.  “As much as I would love to continue this, Uncle Gus will kill me if we don’t make dinner,” Lexa said, placing one last kiss on Clarke’s lips and pushing herself up to a sitting position on the edge of the bed.  She felt the bed shift behind her and then Clarke’s arms were draped across her shoulders and wrapped around her neck, and her lips were pressing to the most sensitive parts of Lexa’s neck.

She moaned quietly and let Clarke have her fun for a bit longer before she used all of her willpower to gently pry herself away from the girl.  She almost broke when she looked back to the bed and Clarke was pouting at her pitifully.  “Aww, babe,” she soothed.  “I promise, as soon as dinner is done and Uncle Gus finishes ‘getting to know you,’ we can come back here and you can have your way with me, deal?”

Clarke didn’t look completely satisfied but smirked at the mention of having her way with Lexa and grumbled a quick, “Deal,” in response.

Lexa stood and tucked her shirt neatly back into her pants and fixed her belt buckle back into place.  She watched as Clarke slid off the bed and smoothed out the wrinkles in her clothes.  “Should I change?” the blonde asked, looking down at the outfit she had put on that morning for her flight.  She had on very light colored jeans with several rips across the thighs and knees, ankle high boots that had already collected a bit of dust, and a well-worn Oklahoma Sooners t-shirt that was just a little bit baggy on her because it had belonged to Lexa at one point before Clarke stole it. 

“You look beautiful darling,” Lexa assured her, kissing the top of her head while she reached above the shorter girl and grabbed her hat off the bed post.  She planted it firmly on her head, over the tight braid that ran halfway down her back.

Clarke looked unsure but followed the brunette out of the bedroom, through the apartment, and back down the steps into the barn.  When they stepped outside, Clarke noticed that the sun was now fully setting and the temperature had begun to break a little.  For the first time, she noticed a few chickens clucking around in a small fenced in area near the barn and she heard a goat calling off in the distance.  The setting sun, drawing them out to enjoy the last bit of daylight. 

“What all animals do you have here?”  Clarke asked as they made their way across the driveway and to the house. 

“Well the main things are horses and cattle.  We have four horses of our own, including Apollo, and two that are boarded here while we train them.  I think we’re at about two thousand head of cattle this year.  We also have fifteen chickens, six goats, four sheep, a couple rabbits, three dogs, a few barn cats, ten pigs, and the wild animals that roam about,” Lexa said as she ticked each one off on her fingers.  She looked over towards Clarke who had a dumbstruck look on her face.  “I told you, you hadn’t even seen the whole ranch yet.”

As they stepped onto the porch and got closer to the screen door, Clarke could hear the sounds of happy chatter filling the house and the smells of fresh cooked food overwhelmed her.  Lexa opened the door for her and signaled for her to enter.  Stepping through the door, she was immediately standing in the kitchen where Gustus was standing over a pan that was popping with grease.  Lincoln, Octavia, and Raven already sat at the table which was set with seven spots, Clarke noticed, and several plates of steaming food. 

Octavia reached over to sneak a piece of okra and Gustus immediately caught her. “Hands off the food ‘til everyone is here,” he scolded playfully.

“Who else are we waiting on?” Octavia asked grumpily, dropping back in her chair like a scolded child. 

“Indra,” Lincoln sing-songed, giving the name at least two extra syllables.

“Who’s Indra?” Raven asked happily.

“Uncle Gus’ lady friend,” Lexa played along with a wink towards Clarke.  She pulled out the chair for the blonde and then removed her hat and sat down next to her as her Uncle argued her statement.

“She’s a close family friend and she lives on the neighboring ranch,” Gustus corrected as he flipped the last of the fried chicken out onto a plate and removed the oil from the heat.  He turned around and Clarke noticed he was wearing a dark blue apron with cows around the middle.  It was hard not to giggle at a man of Gustus’ size and stature in an apron, but she managed.

Lexa rolled her eyes at her Uncle’s stubbornness.  Gustus and Indra had been dancing around each other for years.  Gustus was a widower and Indra a widow, both running their families ranches.  The two had been doing business together for as long as Lexa could remember and she had grown up riding horses and competing in rodeos against Indra’s son, Nyko who Lexa liked quite a bit.  He wasn’t as judgmental as most of the other boys their age and had instantly been kind and welcoming to Lexa.  Indra’s daughter, Gaia, was a little more standoffish and was closer to Anya’s age.  When Lexa and Anya had first moved to Oklahoma, there had been some tense moments between Anya and Gaia when trying to establish who was the alpha in the situation, but after a run in in the school yard where both refused to back down, they decided they could be friends and be much stronger together.  From that point, the two were best friends, even going off to college together.

“Now, ya’ll quit picking on my dad,” Lincoln chided from his seat near on the other side of Clarke.  “He can’t help he has no game.” 

“Must be where my son gets it from,” Gustus shot back playfully as he sat the rest of the food on the table.  The table exploded in good natured laughter as Gustus lovingly thumped his son on the back.  “I think I just heard Indra pull up.  Will you go help her carry her stuff in?” 

“Yes sir,” Lincoln responded politely and immediately jumped up from the table and darted out the screen door, letting it slam shut behind him.

He was only gone a minute or so before he reentered through the door with a jug of tea and a large dish of food in his hands.  He pulled the door open and then held it with his foot so the woman following him could enter first.

She was near Gustus’ age and her skin was a rich brown color.  Her dark hair was curly but was cut short, accentuating the hard features of her face.  She greeted Gustus with a small smile before turning to the group.  Lexa quickly introduced her to Clarke and Raven as Gustus pulled her chair out for her at the end of the table.  He waited for everyone else to get settled and then moved around to sit himself at the opposite head of the table, directly across from her. 

“Son would you say Grace?” Gustus asked as he settled into his chair.

Lincoln nodded and bowed his head, everyone following his lead.  Lincoln recited a practiced prayer to bless their food quickly and as he finished, the room filled with repeated “Amen’s.”

Gustus lifted his head and clapped his large hands together loudly.  “Alright ya’ll.  Dig in!”

Chaos ensued as plates were passed around the table, serving utensils scraped against pans, and people talked over one another asking for this dish and that dish.  Lexa was the last to finish her plate and everyone hungrily dug into the meal in front of them.  Gustus had made a huge dinner of fried chicken, okra, creamed corn, mashed potatoes, turnip greens and fresh cornbread and Clarke groaned happily as she took the first bite. 

“This is delicious Mr. Woods,” she said as she swallowed her second large bite of mashed potatoes. 

“Thank you, Clarke but please call me Gus.  Mr. Woods was my father,” he smiled through his burly beard at the girl. 

Clarke smiled back and nodded as she stuffed another bite of chicken in her mouth. 

“How’s the herd Indra?” Lincoln asked the quiet woman.

“It would be better if I could keep the coyotes at bay.  They’re pretty bad this year,” she said, taking a large drink of her tea.

Gustus hummed loudly, “We’ve had some trouble ourselves.  Lexa and I camped out on top of mountain last week and spotted the pack passing through.”

Lexa nodded her agreement, “We were afraid we were going to have to shoot the whole pack, but they must’ve smelled us upwind because they veered off and headed East towards the old Williams’ Ranch.”

“Coyotes?” Clarke asked wide-eyed.

Lexa turned her attention to her girlfriend, “I told you, we have all kinds of wild animals that roam around here.”

Lincoln nodded his head on the other side of Clarke, “Yeah, we have one of the highest coyote populations in the state here but they’re getting it under control with hunting and trapping.  We try to let them be unless they come to the herd.  They don’t really bother humans too much though.  They’re just as scared of you as you are of them.”  He shrugged his big shoulders and took another bite of food.

“Is that the only Predators that you guys have out here?” Raven asked.

Octavia scoffed, “I wish.  I thought Texas had a lot “hell no” Wildlife.”

“’Hell no’ wildlife?” Raven asked the girl.

“Yeah, animals that when you see them, you just go ‘HELLL NO’ and walk away,” Octavia said causing everyone to break out into laughter.

“At least we’re not as bad as Florida,” Lincoln said through his laughter.

Octavia pointed at the man as if he had a point, “You’re right about that my friend.  Florida is the national capital of ‘Hell no’ wildlife.  I call it ‘Little Australia’ which is the world wild capital of ‘hell no’ wildlife.” The laughter increased as Octavia laughed at her own statement.

As the laughter died down, Clarke continued the conversation. “So, what all ‘hell no’ wildlife do you have?” she asked, quoting Octavia and looking to the brunette to confirm that she was using the proper verbiage.

Lincoln started to talk around a mouth full of food but stopped abruptly when he caught Gustus giving him a scolding look.  He chewed and swallowed his food quickly before starting again.  “We have opossums, raccoons, beavers, coyotes, wolves, bobcats, foxes, bison, deer, elk,” Lincoln ticked off one by one.  “All can be dangerous in their own right, if cornered.”

Octavia shook her head, “Yeah, all that plus rattlesnakes, copperheads, cottonmouths, feral hogs, the occasional mountain lion sighting, and at least five dangerous bugs.”

Gustus rolled his eyes at the brunette, “By occasional mountain lion sighting, she means the maybe one or two we have a year, and most are during mating season or during the dry season when food is harder to come by for them.”  He could see a hint of fear in Clarke’s eyes, so he added, “Most the wildlife around here is like the people around here.  They just wanna go on with their business and not be bothered.  As long as you’re aware of your surroundings when you’re out and about and know how to handle a situation, should it arise, you’ll be fine. I promise, I will make sure that Lexa, Lincoln, and Octavia teach you and Raven everything you need to know before you venture too far from camp.”  He winked at Clarke and then smiled at Raven who both smiled politely and nodded their understanding.

Gustus cleared his throat, “Lexa says you girls are from Tennessee?”

“We live in Tennessee but we’re not actually from there.  We’re from California originally.  Well Clarke is, I moved to California from New York about five years before we moved to Tennessee,” Raven corrected.  “We’re students at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.”

“That’s a very prestigious school,” Indra noted.  “What are you studying?”

“I’m in the engineering program,” Raven stated proudly.  “And Clarke is pre-med.”

“Ah, you must be very smart ladies,” Indra said, clearly impressed.  “My daughter, Gaia, is at Kansas State University getting her master’s in theology and my son, Nyko, is undecided as of yet on his major, but he’s on the rodeo team at Oklahoma State University.”

“Hmm…I wish a couple of my kids would go back to school,” Gustus joked with a look towards Lincoln and Lexa who both avoided eye contact with the man.  “What are you wanting to do with your degrees?” he asked the newcomers.

“NASA!” Raven said suddenly, causing everyone to chuckle at her excitement.  “I’ve wanted to work at NASA since I was a little kid.  I’ve always loved space.”

“Nice, an astronaut and…” Gustus looked toward Clarke expectantly.

“Oh, uh…I’m not sure yet.  I mean, a doctor obviously, but I’m not sure what field.  I’ve considered becoming a pediatrician or an obstetrician, I love kids,” Clarke said thoughtfully.  “My mom wants me to become a surgeon like her but I’m not sure.”

“Your mom is a doctor as well?” Gustus asked, clearly interested in the girl.

“Yes, she is the chief of staff at the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles,” Clarke stated.

Gustus seemed impressed and nodded encouragingly as Clarke talked about growing up in California and Raven mapped out her ten-year plan to becoming an astronaut.  The rest of dinner went by easily as Gustus and Indra asked Clarke and Raven questions about themselves for a while and then switched to everyone explaining life on a ranch to the two newcomers. 

There weren’t many leftovers left by the time everyone had finished eating and Lincoln pushed his half-eaten piece of pie away from him in defeat.  “Your cherry cobbler gets better every time I have it Indra,” he said wiping his mouth on a napkin.

“Thank you, Lincoln,” she said kindly.  “Gus, let me help you clean up.”

“Uncle Gus, we can clean everything up,” Lexa jumped in.  “Ya’ll cooked.  It would only be right for us to clean up.”

Gustus waved off the two women, “No, no, most of the pans will have to soak.  If you will all just dump your plates and put them in the sink, I’ll take care of the rest.  Ya’ll go show Clarke and Raven where to get cleaned up for bed and stuff.  Lincoln, can you go do evening checks on everything on your own tonight?”

“Yes sir,” Lincoln responded before slowly rising from the table, placing his hat on his head, and putting his plate in the sink. 

Clarke, Lexa, Octavia, and Raven all followed his lead to clean their plates and then separated to head to their sleeping quarters.  Clarke and Lexa bid Gustus and Indra a good night before exiting the house and stepping out into the now cool, evening air.  It was completely dark outside now and the only light was from the inside of the large house, casting a soft glow on the porch.  Lexa felt Clarke’s arms wrap around her waist as they walked, and she welcomed the girl’s warm body into hers by putting a toned arm across her shoulders.  They walked across the porch in silence except for the sound of crickets chirping in the distance and the notable clicking of the heels of Lexa’s cowboy boots against the wood of the porch.  Lexa led her to the end of the porch, down the few steps to the driveway, and then pointed them in the direction of the barn.  It was dark out, so dark that Clarke had to pull her cell phone out and point it towards the ground to make sure she didn’t trip over anything, but Lexa seemed to be unbothered by the inability to see.  She expertly led them across the driveway and onto the stone pathway that led to the side of the barn.  Lexa held the door open for her and she entered, thankful that there was some light coming from inside the barn. 

The blonde jumped as she heard a noise come from inside the barn but calmed as she felt strong hands on her waist.  “It’s just Lincoln, doing evening checks,” she said.  “Linc?  You good?” she yelled into the barn as if to prove her point.

“Yeah, sorry about the noise, almost done in here,” came the yelled reply.

“No worries, holler if you need anything,” Lexa responded back but she had already begun to climb the stairs with Clarke close at her heels.  She entered the dark apartment and flicked a switch, illuminating the apartment with the soft white light of two reading lamps in the living room area. 

Clarke walked over and stared out the big windows near the kitchen as Lexa removed her boots and hung her hat up by the door, but she couldn’t see much through the darkness outside.  She felt strong arms wrap around her and Lexa’s chin on her shoulder.  She could see their reflection in the glass and smiled softly at the beautiful woman beside her.

“You okay babe?” Lexa asked sweetly.

Clarke nodded, “Your family is amazing.”

Lexa chuckled softly, “They have their moments.”

Clarke turned in her arms to face the taller woman, wrapping her arms around her neck and playing with the baby hairs at the base of her neck that hung loose from her braid.  “I can’t believe we’re going to get to spend an entire summer together Lex.  I’m so afraid that I’m going to wake up in the morning and you’ll be gone again.”

“I’m not going anywhere Clarke,” Lexa said pulling the girl impossibly closer.  “And if I do, you’ll be going with me.”

“Are you not riding any this summer?” Clarke asked curiously.  She found it hard to believe her adrenaline junky girlfriend would be taking the entire summer away from bull riding just to spend time with her.

“For the most part,” Lexa said.  “We’re going to ride a couple of the county fairs around here and then there’s this charity event towards the end of summer that I have to go ride at since I won national’s last year.”

Clarke nodded her understanding and smiled at the brunette coyly, “Who would’ve thought that I, a city girl from California, would be shacking up with a National Champion bull rider from Cushing, Oklahoma?”  She drew the last few words out in a near perfect impersonation of Lexa’s accent.

“Having seconds thoughts?” Lexa asked playfully.  “I mean, what would all your Hollywood friends say?” She joked as she turned them around and started walking Clarke towards the bedroom. 

“Well they would probably say that I’m crazy,” Clarke shrugged.  “And I guess I am.”

“Crazy?” Lexa asked as they entered the mostly dark bedroom.

“I’m crazy about you,” Clarke said with a wink.

Lexa laughed hard at Clarke’s corny joke as they tumbled onto the bed together.  “That was bad Clarke, even for you.”

“Yeah, I know,” the blonde responded as she laughed just as hard at her own statement.  The laughter died down soon enough and they found themselves lying on the bed, still in their clothes, legs tangled together and Clarke’s head resting on Lexa’s outstretched arm.  She looked into green eyes and smiled contently, reaching her hand up to place on Lexa’s soft cheek.  “But seriously, I am crazy about you Lex.  There’s nowhere in the world I’d rather be.”  Lexa’s smile in return warmed her right down to her bones and she eagerly accepted the soft kiss that Lexa planted on her lips. 

When they separated, Lexa rested her forehead against the other girls’ and spoke softly, almost as if she was trying to keep every bit of the things they shared between them.  “I’m crazy about you too, Clarke.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that was worth the wait :) remember to check out the new tumblr blog, it's currently a work in progress but I'd love to talk to all of you on there :) Also, I'm going to start putting the references on the tumblr page so it doesn't drag out the end notes so much :)
> 
> References:
> 
> https://www.google.com/search?q=barn+apartment+western&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiw2qyZ-v3ZAhUOd98KHanrCd0Q_AUICygC&biw=1366&bih=662#imgrc=ThYVJAZDV04LPM:
> 
> https://www.google.com/search?biw=1366&bih=662&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=OpiyWoLuG--e_QaLsJGICg&q=barn+apartment+living+room&oq=barn+apartment+living+room&gs_l=psy-ab.3...82287.83493.0.83710.11.11.0.0.0.0.181.1323.2j9.11.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..0.1.118...0j0i8i30k1.0.YZOwBejifK0#imgrc=sZ6jHm7iFoRr5M:
> 
> https://www.google.com/search?biw=1366&bih=662&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=PpqyWry_EO7n_QaLvZ2gBw&q=canopy+bed+western&oq=canopy+bed+western&gs_l=psy-ab.3...1919.3334.0.3526.9.8.1.0.0.0.148.782.5j3.8.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..0.5.384...0j0i8i30k1.0.oZbpGHljjZc#imgrc=fysCZxKyWGU2mM:
> 
> (Some general ideas of what the loft apartment looks like)
> 
> https://www.google.com/search?q=eliza+taylor+airport&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiT3fWl_P3ZAhWOPN8KHcPxAhkQ_AUICigB&biw=1366&bih=662#imgrc=UvORv6yUvy3R9M:  
> (Clarke's outfit)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do not fret faithful readers! I am back with another update! I know it's taken a while but I've had some stuff going on and I wanted to make this right before I posted it but here it is and I hope you enjoy! Thank you for sticking with me!

The soft clinking of dishes and the sweet smell of fresh coffee and bacon woke Clarke from her sleep.  She was bundled up in the big, fluffy comforter that covered Lexa’s king size bed.  She stretched her limbs and blew a stray blonde hair out of her face, reaching her arms out to find Lexa’s side of the bed cold and empty.  She pouted adorably and pushed the warm covers off her body before hopping down off the tall bed.  She grabbed a button up shirt off the top of Lexa’s dresser and pulled it over her nude torso, smiling at the well-worn feel and the smell of Lexa in the threads.  It fell to her mid-thighs, just barely covering the light blue lacy underwear that she already had on. 

The hardwood floor was cold on her bare feet as she tip toed out of the bedroom and into the living room of the apartment.  She made it just past the door frame when she noticed Lexa standing in front of the large window that made up most of the back wall of the apartment.  She was looking out onto the sun that had just started to rise and was sipping a mug of steaming coffee.  Clarke looked on as the oranges and reds of the rising sun casted a glow onto the athletic figure of the woman, making her look so much like an angel in blue jeans, that Clarke felt her heart beat a little bit harder at the sight. 

Clarke hated to interrupt the moment but she needed to see green eyes and a bright smile almost as much as her lungs needed air.  “Good morning,” she said quietly.

Lexa turned around and surprised was etched into her features.  “Did I wake you?” she asked, placing her coffee cup on the kitchen counter and walking towards Clarke, accepting a good morning kiss when she was within reach of the girl.

Clarke hummed into the kiss that tasted of mint toothpaste and a hint of coffee.  “You can blame the bacon,” Clarke said with a wink when she pulled away from the kiss. 

“I made you a plate but I figured you wouldn’t be up for hours,” Lexa said, guiding the girl over to the plate of eggs, bacon, and toast. 

“Why are you up so early and not still in bed with me though?” Clarke asked the girl.

“Morning chores.  I get up this early almost every morning,” Lexa shrugged as Clarke picked up the fork and took a large bite of eggs, followed by a bite of crispy bacon. 

She groaned appreciatively at the bite and swallowed hard while pointing the fork towards the plate accusingly, “How is this the best bacon and eggs I’ve ever had?”

Lexa smiled warmly at Clarke’s appreciation of the food. “It’s all fresh and home grown,” she explained.  “I collected the eggs yesterday morning and the bacon came from pigs that were raised right here on this ranch.”

Clarke looked at the food in awe and took another large bite, fully chewing and swallowing before speaking again.  “So we have to get up this early every morning?”

“Well, I do, but you don’t,” Lexa said as she finished up the last sip of her coffee and got up to make another one, pouring Clarke a cup as she did so.

The blonde took the cup that was offered to her as she shook her head, “No, no, no.  I want the full ranch experience.  I want you to turn me into a cowgirl by the end of this summer.”

Lexa smirked into her coffee cup and lifted a perfectly shaped eyebrow at the blonde, “You sure about that?”

“Mmhmm,” Clarke hummed as she chewed the last bite of her food and pushed the plate away from herself.  Before she could get up to put it in the sink, Lexa had it in hand and was rinsing it off for her.  “Okay, give me five minutes to change,” she said as she shuffled to the bedroom to put on some clothes. 

“Do you even have anything appropriate to wear?” Lexa yelled after her to which she was given a quirked eyebrow in return before the blonde disappeared into the bedroom. 

Clarke was true to her word and returned five minutes later donning an outfit that Lexa never thought she’d see the girl wear.  The brand new Wrangler jeans fit snugly on her body and the long sleeve button up fit her much better than the one that Lexa had seen her in when they first met, not that she didn’t enjoy the view of Clarke’s cleavage that, that particular shirt had offered.   On her feet were a spotless pair of brown cowboy boots that looked like Clarke had just removed them from the box they came in.

“How do I look?” Clarke asked with a smirk but Lexa could see a bit of self-consciousness in her eyes.

“You look beautiful,” Lexa said genuinely.  “When did you get this stuff?”

“Well, I told you.  I want you to turn me into a full-fledged cowgirl by the end of the summer so I figured I’d better at least look the part,” she explained.  “So, Raven and I went to this western store in Nashville and met up with this nice lady who got us all set up.  We were a little afraid she was trying to sell us stuff that was super expensive though so Raven texted Octavia just to be sure we weren’t getting ripped off.”

“Have you showered in your boots yet?” Lexa asked with a grin.

“Uh…no?  Why would I shower in my boots?” Clarke asked in confusion.

Lexa laughed at the girl as she led the blonde to the door. “It helps you break them in faster.  Your feet might hurt for the first week or so,” she warned.

“Yeah, I wore them around campus the week before we left but they’re still pretty snug,” Clarke said as she exited the door and began descending the steps in front of Lexa.

They reached the bottom of the stairs and Lexa led Clarke towards the end of the barn where she opened a door and flicked the light on, illuminating a small room with shelves on the walls filled with farm supplies, and several large trash cans lining the walls.  Each trashcan had a label on the front, indicating what was inside: “Horse Feed (Fancy),” “Horse Feed (Everyone Else)” “Chicken Feed,” “Goat/Sheep Feed,” etc.

Lexa reached up to the second shelf and grabbed two pairs of leather work gloves, handing one set to Clarke before pulling the other pair on herself.  She grabbed two large buckets and sat one in front of the trash cans labeled “Horse Feed” and one in front of the trash can labeled “Goat/Sheep Feed.”

“We alternate chores,” Lexa explained as she opened one of the horse feed trashcans and began scooping feed into the large bucket.  “This morning we’ll take care of the horses and the goats and sheep and Lincoln will take care of the chickens, pigs, and the dogs and cats.  Tomorrow morning we’ll switch, so on and so forth.”  She finished filling the bucket she was working on and then switched to the other, starting to fill it as she spoke.  “Once everyone is fed, we’ll meet up with Lincoln and see what all needs to be done around here for the day, then in the evening, we’ll meet up and go take care of the cattle together.”  She finished filling the bucket and lifted it, offering it to Clarke to take. 

The blonde took the bucket and was surprised at first at the weight since Lexa had lifted it like it was nothing.  She used both hands to hold the bucket and Lexa smiled softly as she picked up the first bucket she had filled.  “You got it?” she asked.

Clarke just nodded and followed Lexa out the door and into the barn.  She followed closely behind as Lexa sat her bucket down in the corner on a big wood table and swung open the big door at the end of the barn to be greeted by three large noses.  She watched as Lexa walked to the first stall and opened the door, letting the first horse which sported hair a similar color to Clarke’s.  She followed suit with the next two horses who went into their stalls just as willingly, seemingly ready for their breakfast.

“Always with these three,” Lexa groaned as she rolled her eyes and stepped back into the doorway, looking out onto the large field behind it.  “Breakfast!” she yelled suddenly, following the word with a loud whistle.  Immediately, Clarke could see one, then two, then three heads rising over the small hill and galloping towards the barn. 

Lexa waited patiently as the horses filed into the barn and entered their assigned stalls.

“This is Fancy,” Lexa said as she picked up the bucket and made her way to the first stall which held the blonde horse that had entered the barn first.  “She’s the oldest and the sweetest of the bunch.  Uncle Gus rescued her a few years ago and the two have been inseparable since.”  She patted the horses pink nose gently as she scooped a helping of the feed into the horse’s bucket.  “She’s a palomino mare,” Lexa explained to Clarke. 

“I know mare means a girl, right?” Clarke asked.

Lexa touched her nose with her pointer finger and smiled.  “You got it.  Palomino is her color pattern.  Blonde mane and tail on a blonde coat.”

The next stall held the largest horse of the group, solid black except for a small white star on the center of his forehead.  “This is Pauna, Lincoln’s boy.  He’s a gelding, which means, he’s a boy but he can’t have babies.  He’s still got a way to go before he’s fully broken but he’s coming along,” she explained.  He huffed loudly as Lexa introduced him and patted his snout, making him seem almost impatient with the girl.  She obliged him by filling his bucket and moved on to the next stall.

The next stall and the one next to it held almost identical horses, both a beautiful red-brown with matching manes.  “Cheyenne and Bo,” Lexa pointed to each horse as she served them each their own helping of feed.  “They’re our two boarded horses and they’re both a color we call Chestnut or Sorrel.  They’re training to be roping horses for a brother/sister roping team.  Cheyenne is a mare and Bo is a stud, which means he can make babies.  He’ll have to be moved into a different pasture before long.  They want us to breed them but not just yet.”  

She moved onto the next stall and Apollo stuck his white and black nose over the edge of the stall and snorted quietly.  Lexa patted his nose just like the others and poured his food into his bucket.  “I think you and this fella have already met a time or two.”

Clarke nodded and reached across the door of the stall to pat Apollo’s large shoulder.  “Hey Apollo.”  He didn’t bother looking up but grunted quietly from inside his bucket.

Lastly, Lexa approached the stall on the end where a beautiful cream-colored horse with a black mane and tail, stood, patiently waiting for his breakfast.  For the first time, Lexa actually entered the stall with the horse and put the last of the food in his bucket.  “This is Hothlepoya, but we call him Hoth.” Lexa said as she rubbed the horse’s mane.  “I bought him as a colt from Indra about six years ago.” 

“Where did Hoth-le-poya come from?” Clarke attempted the name slowly.

Lexa chuckled and smiled at the blonde, “Not a bad first try.  It means ‘Crazy Warrior’ in Creek and it was my great-grandfather’s name.” 

“I like it,” Clarke said as she stepped into the stall beside Lexa and rubbed the horse’s mane.  “What do you call this color?”

“He’s a buckskin,” Lexa explained.  “It’s the color you get when a bay horse, that’s brown with a black mane and tail, carries a cream-colored chromosome.  They’re just a lighter variation of a bay basically.”  When she looked up from Hoth, Clarke was staring at her lovingly.  “What?”

“We’ve been together a while now and I didn’t know you knew THIS much about horses.  I’ve never even seen you ride a horse.  I thought it was all bulls and dirt and adrenaline,” Clarke said as Lexa guided her out of the stall and latched the door behind them. 

They made their way to the exit and Lexa picked up the other bucket she had filled with food on the way out.  “I was riding horses long before I ever got on a bull,” Lexa explained as they stepped out into the quickly rising heat of an Oklahoma summer.  “And Uncle Gus has been helping breed and break horses for as long as I can remember.  Horses were my first love but bull riding…” Lexa paused her sentence as they kept walking towards the large gate in front of them where Clarke noticed several large goats, waiting on their breakfast.  “Bull riding has just always been different.  I can’t explain it.”

“You don’t have to,” Clarke said as she looped her arm through Lexa’s free one.  “So, when am I going to get to learn to ride?”

Lexa smirked coyly and glanced at Clarke out of the corner of her eye, “Best I remember, you already know how to ride pretty well.”

Clarke blushed and lightly slapped the taller girl’s arm, “Don’t work blue, Lex.  You know what I mean.”

Lexa laughed out loud this time and the rare sound made Clarke’s stomach turn upside down, but Lexa didn’t seem to notice as she continued speaking.  “We’re going to try to get you and Raven in the saddle by the end of the week.”

Clarke’s smile grew, and she turned towards Lexa as they walked.  “Seriously!?  That soon?”

“Yeah, is that okay with you?” Lexa asked knowingly.

“Of course! I can’t wait to learn!  I’m ready to ride with you.”  Lexa smirked and looked at Clarke and the girl cut off any other thoughts when she held her pointed finger up.  “Don’t.”

Lexa just shrugged as they reached the gate and she led Clarke through, pushing the goats and sheep back as she did so.  She poured the food in a large metal trough in the center of the field and moved quickly as all the hooved animals came running over to eat.  “They all have names, but I can’t remember them all, to be honest.  I know there’s seven named after the dwarves from Snow White but that’s Anya’s doing.”

“Aww, Anya sounds like a softie,” Clarke said as she watched the goats and sheep push one another around for more food.

“Anya is so far from a softie,” Lexa laughed.  “But even hard asses can like Disney, I guess.”

“You don’t talk about your sister much,” Clarke observed as they exited the gate and started walking back towards the barn.  “Are you two not close?”

Lexa hummed thoughtfully as she walked, “No, we’re close but we’re very different people.  You’ll get to meet her soon for yourself though.  She’s coming in later this week with Gaia to visit for a while.  I’m a little nervous for you to meet her.”

“Why’s that?”

“She’s…uh…she’s more distrusting of people than I am,” Lexa started and noticed the disbelieving face that Clarke was making.  “I know, I admit that I can be a little bit closed off to meeting new people but that’s because I learned from Anya and then turned it down about ten notches.  She’s a lot like our dad.  He…he wasn’t the warmest or most trusting man himself, and Anya is a few years older than me, so she got to spend more time with him growing up.  He always said things like: ‘If someone is patting you on the back, they’re just looking for a place to put a knife.’  I guess despite being mostly raised by Uncle Gus, some of those things stuck with her.  Add that to the fact that she’s always been really overprotective of me, and it makes me a bit hesitant to introduce her to my girlfriends.”

Clarke smiled and rubbed Lexa’s arm, “I understand, and I think I can win her over.  I won you, over didn’t I?”

The brunette turned to Clarke and smiled softly, pushing her hat back and leaning in for a quick kiss.  “Yes, you absolutely did, but my sister is going to be a different story babe.”

“We’ll see,” Clarke smiled as they continued walking to the barn.  As they got closer, she could see Lincoln standing in the shade, next to the barn.

“Good morning, Lincoln!” Clarke said when they got close enough for him to hear them.

“Morning Clarke,” Lincoln drawled back and tipped his cowboy hat at the blonde.  “How is everything this morning?” he asked Lexa.

“Horses are stabled and fed and the goats and sheep are fed as well.  What about on your end?”  Lexa replied.

“Chickens, pigs, dogs, and cats all have fully bellies.  No eggs this morning,” Lincoln said.

“Yeah, I collected a lot yesterday morning.  It might be a day or two before we have another big collection,” Lexa said thoughtfully.  “Okay, what’s on the list today?”

“Dad said when he went on his ride yesterday, part of the fence on the North side was down.  He wants us to go check it out and fix it.”

“Okay, let’s go over to the workshop and load up the four wheelers then,” Lexa said as she exited the cool, shaded area and walked over to the metal building where Lincoln had been working on her truck the day before.  “Wait here babe,” she said as she pecked Clarke on the cheek and disappeared into the end where all the tractors were kept.  A few minutes later, one of the big, metal doors slid open and Clarke could hear a small engine revving from inside. 

Moments later, Lexa and Lincoln pulled out of the building on ATVs.  They were identical in make and model, the only difference being Lexa’s was bright red and Lincoln’s was hunter green.  The cousins quickly loaded Lincoln’s ATV with all the necessary supplies for mending the fence and strapped them down tightly.  Lexa straddled her ATV again and then scooted back, leaving a gap between the handlebars and herself.

“Come on, babe,” she said to Clarke as she patted the leather seat in front of her.

Clarke stepped closer and looked at Lexa inquisitively, “Don’t you want me to get on the back?”

The brunette chuckled and shook her head, “Now, how do you expect to learn to drive from the back?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wellll what do we think?? I'm thinking the next chapter will skip ahead to the end of the day and I might write Lexa teaching Clarke to drive and her lusting over Lexa while she works on the fence as a one shot later on down the road. Not completely sure yet. Opinions on that? Other than that, I hope you enjoyed this story and I would love to know what you think!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took a little while to get to you guys but that is because I have found the BEST. BETA. EVER. She's giving me such awesome feedback and I'm learning so much and improving! So while it may take a little longer to get updates out, I think the improvement in writing will be worth it for you guys! Thank you for being patient with me and enjoy the chapter!!!

“Oh my God,” Clarke groaned as the flopped down on Lexa’s leather couch, covering her eyes with one arm and letting the other hang off the couch limply.  “I’ve never been this tired in my entire life.”   
  
Lexa chuckled as she toed off her boots and then hung her cowboy hat by the door. She crossed the room and squatted down at Clarke’s feet to remove the blonde’s boots for her.  Clarke groaned loudly again as Lexa removed her boots and placed them neatly on the floor at the end of the couch.  “You should get a shower before dinner,” Lexa said as she patted Clarke’s thigh.  
  
“Too tired.  Too sore. Leave me here to die, please,” Clarke complained.  Clarke was content crashing on the couch before she was suddenly being lifted into the air.  Squealing loudly, she complained to her partner’s back, “Lexa, put me down!”

  
Lexa was carrying her girlfriend over her right shoulder, through the bedroom and into the attached bathroom, ignoring her half-hearted complaints. She sat Clarke down on the marble countertop gently and then smiled at her.  “I promise that a hot shower and a good meal will make you feel a hundred times better.  Do you trust me?” She asked sweetly.  She was leaning against Clarke’s legs with a hand on either side of her.  
  
“You know I trust you,” Clarke said as she spread her legs and Lexa easily moved between them, placing her body against Clarke’s.  She initiated a chaste kiss that made Clarke hum into her lips.  Clarke started to raise her arms from her sides to wrap them around Lexa’s neck but groaned in pain at the little bit of movement.  
  
Lexa pulled back and smiled softly at her girlfriend.  “I told you to take it easy the first day,” she said as she pulled away and turned to start the shower.   
  
“I wanted to prove that I could hang with you and Lincoln,” Clarke whined as she leaned back against the mirror behind the sink, letting her head hit it with a dull thud.  
  
“Okay babe, I appreciate the effort and I have no doubt that you’ll prove your worth on the ranch this summer.  Mainly because you’re stubborn and you can do anything you set your mind to, but Lincoln and I have been working this ranch since we were knee high to a grasshopper.  It’s just not realistic for you to keep up with us on the first day, or week, or month even,” Lexa explained gently as she helped Clarke stand and started removing her clothing.  
  
Clarke was little help in the process as she stood with a sour look on her face, unhappy with Lexa’s assessment.  “First of all, knee high to a grasshopper? That’s a thing people say?  And second, you think it will be a month before I’m able to contribute?”  
  
“That’s not what I said,” Lexa corrected as she tossed Clarke’s jeans and button up shirt into the hamper on the other side of the room, leaving the blonde in a pair of underwear and a bra.  She almost laughed at the scene as Clarke stood in front of her, half naked and pouting.  “You contributed today darlin’, and you’ll contribute the rest of the summer.  I’m just suggesting you wait a little longer before challenging Lincoln to a hay bale throwing contest.”  
  
Clarke huffed, and had she been less sore, she probably would have crossed her arms, but as it was, she just shrugged and let her bra drop to the floor when Lexa unhooked it.  
  
“Now, I’m going to go make us some dinner and you’re going to shower because I love you baby, but you smell like cow shit,” Lexa laughed as she playfully waved her hand in front of her face as if she was chasing off the smell.   
  
“Babe...” Clarke whined.  
  
Lexa threw her hands up in surrender, “Hey, I told you to watch out for land mines in the field.”  
  
Clarke glared at Lexa and the taller woman took it as her cue to leave.  She darted out the door, closing it behind her with one final wink.    
  
Clarke watched the door as it clicked closed.  With a sigh, she stepped out of her underwear and surrendered to the hot shower. It was like she could instantly feel some of the tension leave her body as the water ran over her.    
  
She took her time, scrubbing all the dirt and grime off her body and out of her blonde hair, hoping that the smell was going with it.  When she finally emerged from the shower, she had to use a towel to wipe the fog off the big mirror over the sink.  She looked and felt much more like herself after getting clean.  She was even able to lift her arms to brush her hair and dress herself in a pair of soft, cotton underwear and one of Lexa’s t-shirts.  She took her time completing her tasks, hoping to look more human than she did when she entered the bathroom.  
  
As she exited the bathroom with her hair still damp, she was instantly hit with the most delicious smell she’d ever encountered.  She found Lexa in the kitchen, plating their dinner, which consisted of large steaks and two baked potatoes. She sat them down on the table and then returned to the kitchen to get the large bowl of salad she had made.    
  
“How was your shower?” She asked, as she pulled out a chair for Clarke.

  
“Amazing,” Clarke responded and she wasn’t sure if she was answering Lexa’s question or talking about the food in front of her.  
  
“Glad to hear it.  Dig in darling,” Lexa said as she sat down across from Clarke and took a sip from her half empty beer.  
  
Clarke smiled and mimicked Lexa’s movement with her own beer, noting that Lexa made the effort to buy her favorite.  “You’re perfect, you know that?”  
  
Lexa looked up in surprise as she paused from putting salad on her plate.  “Why do you say that?”  
  
“You're smart, sexy, funny, and sweet for starters.  You are considerate.  Yes, I noticed you bought my favorite beer even though you think it’s disgusting. You slowed down your work pace today so I could keep up but never once said that out loud and you hoped I wouldn’t notice.”   
  
Lexa blushed a little at being caught.  
  
“And on top of all of that, you cook!” Clarke said around a bite of juicy steak that nearly melted in her mouth.    
  
Lexa chuckled at the groan Clarke released as she chewed the piece of meat.  “I don’t know my way around a kitchen like Uncle Gus, but I get by.”  
  
Clarke finished her bite and swallowed, laying her silverware down on her plate gently and looking at Lexa with a serious expression.  “I wish you’d stop doing that.”  
  
“Stop doing what?” Lexa asked in confusion as she tried to finish her bite.  
  
“Being so damn humble.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s sexy but I wish you would take a compliment sometimes,” Clarke said with a soft smile. “You’re a catch Lexa and I don’t know how I got lucky enough to find you but I’m not letting go any time soon.”   
  
Lexa blushed again and looked down at her plate with the slightest hint of a smile.  “I’ll work on it,” she promised. Lexa looked up from her plate and her normally confident mask fell for a moment and Clarke could see the insecurity behind it.  The woman looked younger than Clarke had ever seen her look and it suddenly hit Clarke that Lexa was probably just as broken as any other person.  When she looked at Lexa getting ready to ride a bull, confidently taking the lead in their relationship, and working on a ranch from sun up to sun down, it was easy to forget that she was just as human and fragile as herself. 

“You haven’t heard that you’re enough much, have you?” Clarke asked suddenly, and she watched in amazement as Lexa’s mask immediately fell back into place.

Lexa’s shoulders tensed for just a moment and Clarke thought she had made the girl mad but almost immediately after, the woman shook her head and relaxed, “I don’t seek other people’s validation Clarke, but I am really happy that you’re happy.  That’s all I want.”  


Clarke quickly realized that she had hit a nerve with Lexa and decided to wait on further pursuing the conversation.  Instead, she simply smiled and took another bite of her food.

  
Dinner passed with idle conversation about the ranch and the chores for the next day and ended with a brief argument over who was going to do dishes.  Clarke won, despite Lexa putting up a fight, and sent Lexa to shower while she cleaned up the few dishes in the sink.  
  
A little later they were lying in bed together quietly.  Lexa was reading Of Mice and Men for the fourth time with her left hand and tracing small circles on Clarke’s bare back with her other hand.  Clarke was laid on her stomach, finishing up a text to her mother, including a few photos that she had managed to snap.  Abby had yet to meet Lexa but Clarke could tell that the cowgirl had already made a good impression on her mother with all of Clarke’s stories.    
  
She laid her phone down gently on the nightstand and sighed in contentment as she felt Lexa’s feather light touches on her back.  Originally it had been aimless circles, but Clarke could feel it morphing into other shapes and even letters.  
  
“Lex?” She breathed quietly, almost afraid to break the quietness of the room.  
  
“Hmm?” Came the hummed response from behind her.  
  
“You don’t talk about your parents much,” Clarke said as she flipped over and faced the brunette.  Though it was a statement, the lilt in her voice made it sound more like a question. She had been curious about Lexa’s family for a long time but had never been brave enough to ask, and apart from the few statements Lexa had made in passing, she didn’t make an effort to share.  The comment that Lexa had made earlier in the day about her father had been nagging at her and she decided it was okay to ask a few questions at this point.  
  
Lexa paused, and dog eared the page of her book before closing it and sitting it down on her nightstand.  “What would you like to know about them?”   
  
“What were they like?” Clarke asked cautiously.  
  
Lexa looked as if she was trying to recall some information but couldn’t quite put the pieces together.  “I was very young when they died,” she settled on.  “I remember my dad was big, like Uncle Gus.  I always thought that I just remembered him being so big because I was little, but I found some pictures of them together a few years ago and they could have been twins,” Lexa continued.  She paused for a few moments and then seemed to remember something.  “He was very quiet and brooding.  Like I said earlier, he wasn’t the friendliest man, but he was a good dad I guess.  I remember him taking me to rodeos and on horseback rides.”  
  
“What about your mom?” Clarke asked, and Lexa smiled at whatever memory had come to mind.  
  
“She used to sing all the time.  I don’t remember if she was any good,” Lexa laughed.  “But I remember her constantly singing, and baking too.”    
  
“What did they do?”   
  
“My dad was a banker and my mom stayed home with us.  We lived just outside of Oklahoma City because that’s where dad worked.” Lexa said.  
  
“What happened?” The question was open ended but they both knew what Clarke was asking.  
  
“Car accident.  It was stupid, really.  Dad had this big work dinner and Anya and I were supposed to go but they decided to make it a date night instead.  They were driving home late, and the roads were bad. See, we get bad storms out here.  I would expect you’ll see your fair share of them this summer.  Anyways, this one was really bad.  High winds, hail, heavy rain, even a few funnel sightings.  Dad’s boss told Uncle Gus that they had decided to leave dad’s function early because mom wanted to be with us.  She knew that storms had always scared me.”  Lexa paused and stared off at the wall sadly for a few breaths before clearing her throat and continuing.  The roads were too bad though, they should have stayed at the event.  They ended up hydroplaning into another car head-on.  Everyone involved was killed,” Lexa said solemnly.  “Anya and I came to live with Uncle Gus after that and you know the rest.”

“You blame yourself,” Clarke said knowingly.

“No, not anymore,” Lexa said.  “I used to, for a long time.  I wished for years that Uncle Gus had never let it slip that they were coming home because of me but I’ve talked to Lincoln about it some and I know now that it was an accident and it was no one’s fault.”   
  
Clarke nodded.  “Does it ever get easier?” She asked Lexa and the question stunned the brunette.  Clarke must have taken her silence for a lack of understanding because she played with the blanket a little and said, “it’s been four years since I lost my dad and it’s still hard, like all the time.”  
  
Lexa turned and took her hands that were still nervously playing with the blanket and squeezed them.  “Our experiences are different, so I can’t really speak for yours.  I was really young, so I’ve spent most of my life without my parents but you’re having to adjust to not having a parent that’s always been there.”  She noticed the dejected look on Clarke’s face and her heart ached for the girl she loves.  “But I will say it did get better for me.  I still think about my parents and wish they could see me now, especially when I win rodeos and stuff because I think my dad would be proud.  But for the most part, I do okay.  It doesn’t affect me nearly as much as it used too.”  
  
Clarke nodded softly and then leaned up to kiss Lexa’s lips.  “I’m sorry about your parents.  I’m sure they would be very proud of you.”  
  
Lexa nodded and smiled, “and I’m sure your dad is very proud of you, future Dr. Griffin.”  
  
The small joke broke the tension in the room and Clarke laughed, “I don’t know about all that. I struggled this last semester.  Dr. Pike, was the worst!” 

   
“Well, if you ever need help with anatomy, I’m more than happy to tutor you,” Lexa said coyly as she pulled Clarke’s body closer to her own. 

   
“Oh babe, I wish I had the energy,” Clarke half chuckled and half groaned as her sore muscles screamed at her for moving.   
  
Lexa laughed and kissed Clarke chastely on the lips. “It’s okay babe, I’ll get you an ice pack,” she said as she hopped out of bed and headed to the freezer  
  
Clarke watched Lexa leave the room and sighed in contentment.  She was exhausted and her whole body ached, but getting to spend this time with Lexa was the most precious thing in the world to her.  She was only a day in and already dreading the end of summer and having to leave all of this behind. The thought made her stomach ache with sadness.  She pushed those thoughts out of her mind as Lexa re-entered the room with a large ice pack.    
  
“Did someone order an ice pack for a sore shoulder because my girlfriend is stubborn?”  She said playfully, standing in the door frame like a room service waiter.    
  
“Bring the ice pack but leave the sass at the door,” Clarke lobbed back at her, earning her a chuckle from Lexa. Just like that, the heaviness in her chest from her previous thoughts were replaced with a warm feeling that only Lexa could give her.  She would save those less desirable feelings for the end of summer.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh!!! I hope you guys enjoyed that chapter :) the next chapter is ALMOST done. I've just got to work out a few kinks before sending it over to my beta. In the meantime, let me know what you thought of this chapter and what you would like to see in future chapters!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke and Raven learn how to ride horses, we finally meet Anya, and some stories from the good old days!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone!!! I’m super nervous about this chapter which is why it has taken so long to upload it! I don’t think it’s bad, I’m just worried that it’s too wordy for you guys. Anyways, enjoy!
> 
> See my tumblr page @barbedwireandbouqets for reference pics and to get in contact with me :)

The rest of the week went similarly to the first day. Clarke would get up with Lexa, and spend the day learning how to do things on the ranch with Lexa and Lincoln. By Tuesday of that week, Raven and Octavia had also joined them. Luckily, the sheer number of hands on the ranch made things go by much smoother and faster than normal, so their days were able to end much earlier than they would have if it was just Lexa and Lincoln running the ranch. The mild weather, however, had not stuck around and by the end of the week, the days were getting more and more humid. The only relief from the heat was the constant wind that blew so hard some days that Lexa had almost lost her hat more than once.  
  
Evening activities varied depending on how difficult the work on the ranch had been that day. If it was a hard day, the group tended to go their separate ways and relax in the evenings, but if the day had been an easier one, they would get together and watch a movie or just hang out on the porch, sipping iced tea and talking.  
  
By the time Saturday rolled around, there was very little to be done on the ranch. It took them no time to finish the morning feedings and Uncle Gus didn’t have any projects that needed done. Lexa quickly decided that it was the perfect day to teach Clarke and Raven how to ride, which is how they ended up in the barn, getting everything they needed together.  
  
Lexa and Octavia were in the tack room of the barn, conversing quietly about what tack to use for each of the girls while Clarke and Raven stood in the door way looking confused about the words the two girls were using.  
  
“I think a snaffle bit will be best for them,” Octavia said as she pulled a large metal object off the wall.  
  
Lexa’s hum in response seemed to indicate her approval as she grabbed two pairs of leather reins off the wall. “Split reins?” She asked the shorter brunette.  
  
Octavia nodded as she took one set of reins from Lexa and turned to the saddle rack. She turned to look at Raven and stared at the woman for a little too long, making Raven self conscious.  
  
“Why are you staring at me creep?” Raven asked playfully.  
  
“I’m trying to decide...” she let the rest of her sentence hang in the air as she looked back at the saddle rack. “Ya’ll are probably pretty close in saddle size, don’t you think?” she directed at Lexa this time who nodded.  
  
“Yeah, probably. She can use my saddle. I’m going to put Clarke in Anya’s saddle,” Lexa said thoughtfully as she reached for a worn looking saddle on one of the bottom tiers of the saddle rack. She held the saddle up and looked at the stirrups. “Although I’m probably going to have to raise the stirrups a mile.”  
  
Octavia chuckled at Lexa’s observation and pulled Lexa’s saddle off of the rack. “Here,” she held the saddle out towards Raven, indicating that the girl should take it.  
  
Raven walked over and took the saddle from Octavia and grunted when the other woman let go of the item. “Jesus,” Raven complained. “This thing is heavy as shit.”  
  
“Yep,” Octavia agreed as she grabbed the bit, reins, and a blue saddle pad and led Raven out of the tack room.  
  
Lexa followed behind them holding Anya’s saddle in one hand at her side and the bit and reins in her opposite hand. She nodded at Clarke to grab the multicolored saddle pad below the one Octavia had just taken. As they followed Raven and Octavia to the round pen, Clarke walked beside Lexa, admiring the way the muscles in Lexa’s arm flexed through her plain, white t-shirt as she carried the heavy saddle. Clarke could hear Raven complaining in front of them as she lugged her own saddle.  
  
“Why couldn’t you carry this for me?” Raven whined.  
  
“If you’re going to learn to ride, you gotta be able to carry your own tack,” Octavia said with a smile.  
  
“So why isn’t Clarke having to carry hers?”  
  
Octavia shrugged but didn’t answer Raven’s question.  
  
“I’ll tell you why. Cause Lexa is a better girlfriend, that’s why,” Raven continued her complaints.  
  
“Uh, uh, uh,” Octavia tsked. “Her being a better girlfriend would indicate that I am actually your girlfriend, which you have made clear, I am not.” The words were harsh but Octavia’s tone was the exact opposite, coming off as playful and sassy. The two had been having this conversation for months now. Octavia wanted to be Raven’s girlfriend but Raven “wasn’t ready to put a title on things.”  
  
Clarke and Lexa shared a knowing look, remembering their conversation from the night before. Clarke had explained Raven’s fear of commitment to Lexa but admitted that she had noticed Raven mentioning Octavia when she talked about future plans.  
  
By the time they made it to the round pen, Lincoln was standing under a nearby tree with Apollo and Fancy tied up on a wooden post. Lincoln looked past them as they walked up and smiled. “Well I’ll be damned,” he said happily.  
  
The group turned to see a blue Jeep speeding up the driveway, throwing up a cloud of dust behind it from the gravel driveway.  
  
Lexa seemed to perk up and sat the saddle down gently on the ground. She smiled at Clarke and patted the girl on the shoulder. “It’s Anya,” she explained as she watched the Jeep pull up next to the house and park.  
  
The door of the Jeep popped open and a long, tan leg appeared below it. Clarke watched as Anya came into view and she was impressed with the woman, to say the least. She stood just a little bit taller than Lexa with dirty blonde hair. Clarke could tell, even at this distance, that her facial features were much sharper than Lexa’s. She wore jeans, a flowy top, and a pair of high heels that Clarke would have broken her neck in, but that she walked across the uneven gravel of the driveway in as if it was nothing.  
  
The group met her about halfway and she smiled as Lexa approached her first. She removed the big sunglasses she wore and accepted the hug from Lexa. She pulled back and held the girls by the biceps and looked her over. “You look good Lex,” she said as she pulled her sister into another hug.  
  
The two broke apart and Anya also accepted hugs from Lincoln and Octavia. She looked past Lexa once she finished hugging Octavia and seemed to notice the new additions for the first time. “And who is this?”  
  
Lexa smiled nervously as she ushered Clarke to the front and introduced her. “Anya, this is Clarke Griffin, my girlfriend. Clarke, this is Anya.”  
  
Anya seemed to look Clarke over so hard that Clarke could have swore the girl saw straight to her bones. She was surprised when Anya seemed to reach a decision and smiled warmly. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Clarke,” she said as she extended her arms, pulling the shocked blonde into a hug.  
  
It was unclear who was in more shock, Clarke or Lexa, as Anya exited the hug and nodded towards Raven. “And who’s this?”  
  
Raven sauntered towards Anya and extended her hand. “Raven,” she said confidently.  
  
Anya eyed the girl and then returned the hand shake. “Just Raven? Is that like Madonna or Cher or do you have a last name?”  
  
Raven chuckled. “Well, I am legendary like them but it’s Reyes. Raven Reyes.”

“Nice to meet you Raven,” Anya said while Clarke rolled her eyes at Raven. “You with Octavia or Lincoln? Never can tell around here.”  
  
The joke made everyone chuckle and Raven pointed to Octavia, “I’m with that one, although I’m reconsidering after she made me carry that ridiculously heavy saddle all the way over here.”  
  
It was Octavia rolling her eyes at Raven this time as she waved off her empty threat.  
  
“We’re teaching Clarke and Raven to ride. You wanna join us?” Lexa asked her sister.  
  
“Sure, but let me change and say something to Uncle Gus first. I’m not really dressed for ranch activities as you can see,” Anya said as she motioned towards her outfit.  
  
“I’ll say. You’ve been in the city too long sis,” Lexa joked back.  
  
Anya threw a half punch at Lexa’s arm and rolled her eyes. “It doesn’t have to be all wranglers and boots all the time, butch,” she yelled back over her shoulder as she went back to her Jeep to grab her bag.  
  
“You wound me, you really do,” Lexa yelled back. They all laughed at the middle finger that Anya threw at her sister as she stepped onto the porch and rounded the corner, out of sight.  
  
“She’s not really what I was expecting,” Clarke said to Lexa as they walked back to the horses.  
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
“I don’t know. I guess I expected someone that wasn’t so...friendly?” Clarke winced at her word choice but Lexa seemed to be having a similar thought because she nodded.  
  
“Yeah, she seemed different. I’ll give you that,” Lexa said as she looked back towards the house and then shrugged. “Let’s just be thankful for whatever it is that has her in this mood.”  
  
“Okay, y’all ready to learn how to ride?” Octavia asked, clapping her hands together. She didn’t wait for an answer from the girls before she picked up the saddle pad that she had left on top of Lexa’s saddle when they went to greet Anya. “Typically we would brush the horses down first but Lincoln already took care of that for us. After that, saddle pads go on first. They make sure the leather saddle doesn’t rub against the horse too much and make the ride a little comfier for you. The top is going to sit right on his withers.” She placed the saddle pad on Apollo’s back and pulled the top up to the base of his mane.  
  
“What’s a wither?” Raven asked.  
  
“The withers is the highest part of a horses back. Right between the base of their neck and their shoulder blades,” Lexa answered, mirroring Octavia’s demonstration with the other saddle pad.  
  
“Got it,” Raven nodded.  
  
“Next comes your saddle,” Octavia explained as she grabbed the saddle off the ground and handed it to Raven.  
  
Raven grunted as she took the saddle and approached Apollo from behind.  
  
“Woah, woah, woah,” Octavia said as she reached out and grabbed Raven. “Typically, you never approach a horse from behind if you can avoid it. You don’t want to startle it and end up getting kicked. Apollo’s pretty bomb proof so you can get away with it with him but another horse might not take well to it.”  
  
“Always approach from the front and let them see you coming,” Lexa finished as she walked behind Clarke who was now holding her own saddle and approaching Fancy. “Rub the saddle along their side to get them used to the feel before you toss it on.” She put her hands over Clarke’s and showed her exactly what to do.  
  
Octavia nodded in agreement and led Raven to the correct position. “Next is the hardest part,” she explained. “Take the right stirrup and rest it over the saddle horn like this.” She demonstrated the action and Clarke copied her. “Then you’re going to get some momentum and swing the saddle up on top of the saddle pad.”  
  
Clarke felt Lexa’s hand leave hers and she took a breath before she grunted and swung her saddle onto Fancy’s back. It landed a little crooked but for the most part went exactly where she was aiming. “I did it!”  
  
“Hell yeah you did. Go for it Rae,” Octavia said beaming at her “not-girlfriend.”  
  
Raven had her tongue sticking out of her mouth a little as she sized up the momentum she would need to get the heavy object onto Apollo’s back. He was a little bit taller than Fancy and it would require a little more power. She gave the saddle a swing backwards and then used all of her strength to send it up. The saddle landed in place but force of the swing and the weight of the saddle caused her stumble a little and she bumped into Apollo’s shoulder pretty hard with the side of her face. The gentle giant hardly moved and huffed quietly at the barely noticeable inconvenience.  
  
“Damn, Apollo. It’s like running into a brick wall,” Raven complained as she rubbed her cheek.  
  
Octavia was trying to contain her laughter and she patted Apollo’s butt gently. “Good boy.” She continued giggling about the incident as she helped Raven slide the saddle into place and explained how to properly attach and tighten the cinch.  
  
On the other side of Fancy, Lexa was explaining the same things to Clarke who was trying to listen to her girlfriend intently but was also amazed at the woman’s knowledge. She loved watching Lexa work and learning from her. She looked the sexiest to Clarke when she was in her natural environment.  
  
“Now you have to watch Fancy,” Lexa explained, unaware of Clarke’s internal struggle to pay attention. “She likes to blow up. So just give her a little nudge in the belly while you’re cinching and it should get her to let out.”  
  
“Blow up?” Clarke questioned. The new term had snapped her focus back to the task at hand.  
  
“Yeah, basically, she’s a little stubborn about being saddled so she tightens up her abdominal muscles and it kind of expands her chest so that when she relaxes, it loosens the saddle,” Lexa explained.  
  
“She doesn’t like it? Does the saddle hurt her? I don’t want to hurt her,” Clarke asked worriedly as she rubbed the blonde horse’s mane gently.  
  
“No, nothing like that. Saddling doesn’t hurt them at all when it’s done right and they’re so strong, she’ll barely feel your weight on her back. She’s just a stubborn, ol’ mare,” Lexa assured.  
  
Clarke seemed happy with the explanation and watched closely as Lexa finished showing her how to set the saddle up. Once everything was secure and in place, Lexa and Octavia untied the two horses and started showing the girls how to get the bits in their mouth.  
  
Octavia laid the lead rope across Apollo’s shoulders and held the two ends together so he couldn’t go anywhere before removing the rope halter from his large head. “Now you just take that bit and put it in his mouth.”  
  
Raven held the metal piece up to Apollo’s mouth who looked at it and then turned his head away, bored of the situation.  
  
“Come on Apollo, you know how to do this,” Raven coaxed, holding the bit up to his mouth again, causing him to turn his head the other way.  
  
“You gotta make him take it, Rae,” Octavia chuckled.  
  
“Make him!?” Raven demanded. “He weighs a thousand pounds! I have a feeling I can’t MAKE him do anything he doesn’t want to do!”  
  
“Sure you can. He knows that he isn’t the boss. Hold it up to his lips and just give it a little push. He’ll take it,” Octavia encouraged patiently.  
  
“This whole conversation sounds filthy,” Raven deadpanned. She raised the bit to Apollo’s lips again and did as Octavia said. Finally, the horse begrudgingly took the bit into his mouth. “Ah ha!” Raven said excitedly as she did a small victory dance. She looked up to Octavia for approval but to her surprise, Octavia was laughing and Clarke, Lexa, and Lincoln had joined in. She looked back at Apollo in confusion and finally saw that the stubborn horse had spit the bit out of his mouth during her victory dance. “Dammit Apollo! Just let me have this one thing, man!”  
  
“Once it’s in, you gotta secure it or that will happen,” Lexa explained calmly as she was the only one who had been able to regain her composure. Clarke and Octavia were still laughing too hard and poor Lincoln almost had tears in his eyes at Raven’s struggle.  
  
“Laugh it up, jackasses,” Raven grumbled as she attempted to put the bit back in Apollo’s mouth. She finally succeeded and quickly secured the leather strap to avoid another laughing fit at her expense.  
  
As they walked the horses to the round pen, Anya rejoined the group. She was now wearing a pair of denim shorts, a tank top, and a pair of dusty cowboy boots. She climbed onto the metal round pen and sat on the top bar next to Lincoln who had made himself at home there already. “How’s it going Linc?” She asked as she settled in next to the man.  
  
“Same ol, same ol,” Lincoln said as he thumped the dip can in his large hand. He packed a dip into his lip and then turned to his older cousin. “How’s big city living treating ya?”  
  
“That’s a horrible habit, you know?” She said nodding towards the man’s stuffed lip. She knew the words were falling on deaf ears. Lexa and Anya had been trying to get Gus and Lincoln to stop dipping for years with no luck. “And the city’s okay. The noise is the hardest to get used too but I kind of like it now.”  
  
“I can’t imagine I’d ever get used to that,” Lincoln said thoughtfully.  
  
“It’s not for everyone,” Anya agreed. They sat in silence for a few minutes as they watched Octavia and Lexa show Raven and Clarke how to mount their horses.  
  
“Isn’t this kind of boring for you?” She asked.  
  
“Nah, I ain’t got anything else to do and I figure I’ll get quite a show out of Raven there,” he said with a grin. “Clarke will take to it pretty well I reckon. She has everything else on the ranch.”  
  
“Hmm...tell me about Clarke. Lexa talks about her a lot but never really says anything. You know what I mean?”  
  
Lincoln nodded. “I like Clarke. She seems like a good woman, especially for a city girl.”  
  
“Where’s she from?”  
  
“California born and raised is my understanding,” Lincoln said.  
  
“West Coast girl. Better than New York, I guess. I haven’t ever met someone from New York that I liked,” Anya scoffed.  
  
Lincoln just smiled knowingly as he watched Raven fail to mount Apollo the first time and nodded.  
  
“Lex says she’s in school in Nashville now? That’s a long way from home for school.”  
  
“She’s pre med at Vanderbilt,” Lincoln explained. “It’s apparently one of the best med schools in the country. That’s where we met these two.”  
  
“At Vanderbilt?” Anya asked in surprise.  
  
“No, no. Octavia went out to a bar with Roan and Ontari the night before a rodeo we rode in. They met Raven there and Octavia invited her to try to impress the city girl. You know how she is. Anyways, Raven dragged Clarke along to the rodeo the next day and Clarke and Lexa hit it off I guess.”  
  
“My sister ‘hit it off’ with a California girl at a rodeo? Come on Linc?” Anya said, clearly having a hard time believing Lincoln’s story.  
  
Lincoln chuckled. “Alright, you got me there. They kinda hated each other at first. Lexa was her typical self and Clarke really didn’t want to be there, so Lexa was kind of an ass to her, but they got stuck together because Raven ran off with Octavia and I guess they eventually found that they had some stuff in common. I don’t know. All I do know is that after that, we started driving miles out of the way to see her and Lexa started spending way more time on her phone and between you and me, she became way less of a hard ass.”  
  
Anya’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “We’re talking about the same Lexa right? Ms. ‘We’re Not Going to the McDonald’s Five Miles Outside of Town When There’s a Perfectly Good Wendy’s Right Down The Street?’ Ms. ‘Cell Phones Are Just Another Distraction?’”  
  
“Hand to God,” Lincoln said as he raised his right hand in the air as if he was taking an oath.  
  
“Hmm...interesting,” Anya said thoughtfully as she looked over in time to see Octavia give Raven’s ass a shove so hard that Raven almost went over the other side of the saddle. She caught her balance, however, and situated in the saddle.  
  
“Ha!” Raven shouted as she smiled triumphantly and looked over to Clarke who had been sitting in her saddle waiting the last few minutes.  
  
“Nice of you to join me up here Raven!”  
  
“Shut up Griffin! Okay, O, what’s next?” Raven asked looking down at the girl below her.  
  
“Well first, you’re just going to sit up there and we’re going to lead y’all around the pen. I want you to work on your balance and moving your hips with the horse,” Octavia explained loud enough for both Raven and Clarke to hear.  
  
She took the reins and started to guide Apollo around the round pen. Lexa mirrored her actions and kept at a pace that allowed her to always stay on the exact opposite side of the round pen.  
  
They were on their fifth lap around when Anya started getting bored. “This is like the world’s lamest pony ride,” she commented as Octavia and Raven passed her.  
  
Raven looked over and realized that Anya sitting on the top bar of the round pen, allowed the girl to be eye to eye with Raven on horseback. She rolled her eyes at the girl’s comment and kept focusing on attempting to move her hips as Octavia had instructed.  
  
“You’re stiff as a board,” Anya critiqued the next time by. “Watch Clarke, she’s getting the hang of it.”  
  
Lincoln tried to hold in his laughter. He could tell that Anya was getting under Raven’s skin with her comments and he knew that Anya loved to get people going. Raven wasn’t one to back down from a sass war and that would be perfect ammunition for his cousin.  
  
“Seriously, do your hips move or are they fused to your back?” She joked the next time around.  
  
“They move just fine, thank you. Ask Octavia,” Raven sassed back with a smirk.  
  
Lexa had already let Clarke take the reins of Fancy and had joined Lincoln and Anya on the gate, long before Octavia finally handed the reins to Raven. She thoroughly instructed Raven in how to use the reins to control the horse and then backed away.  
  
As Octavia backed away, Apollo came to a complete stop. Raven looked at the girl on the ground helplessly. “You gotta kick a little to get him going,” she instructed.  
  
Raven raised her feet and then let them drop down on Apollo’s side but the horse remained still.  
  
“Put some umfph into it!” Anya called. “He didn’t even feel that.”  
  
“Come on Apollo, you’re making me look bad,” Raven mumbled as she kicked the horse with her heels again and he refused to move again.  
  
“It’s gotta be an order, not a suggestion Rae!” Octavia explained. “Give him a verbal cue with it.”  
  
“Do something or you’re going to be sitting in that spot ‘til dinner time,” Anya teased with a laugh.  
  
Raven lifted her legs again and dropped them with even more force this time, trying to encourage Apollo to work with her. She backed the kick up with a loud “Ha-ya!” and the horse finally took a few steps forward and Raven smirked at Anya cockily. Her smile faded, however, when Apollo turned and walked straight towards Octavia in the center and stopped again.  
  
Anya lost all composure as she watched the events unfold in front of her. She was laughing so hard, she almost fell off the gate. Lincoln put a strong hand behind her, just in case.  
  
“I’ve got to stop this madness. I’m going to die from laughter,” Anya said as she jumped down into the round pen and walked over to Octavia and Raven who were arguing quietly. “Alright lovebirds, enough with the bickering. O, get out for a bit. Apollo’s too buddy sour to you.” Octavia frowned but did as she was told and quietly joined Lexa and Lincoln on the fence. “You,” Anya said pointing at Raven. “Riding a horse is a tricky relationship. It’s a partnership but there has to be a leader. If you don’t take the role, he will and that’s how you end up hurt, got it?”  
  
“How exactly am I supposed to show an animal ten times my size that I’m in charge?” Raven asked shortly.  
  
“Assertiveness. Horses are herd animals and they respect an alpha. Be the alpha.”  
  
“Be the alpha,” Raven mocked under her breath as she finally gave Apollo enough of a kick to get the horses attention. She followed that up with a loud and deep “hyah!” That encouraged the horse to start taking steps forward. He started a path around the pen, following behind Clarke and Fancy who were moving at a steady pace now. Raven was suddenly torn between excitement at finally getting Apollo to move and sourness over Anya’s advice actually working. She avoided the smirking blonde in the center of the pen as she followed behind Fancy.  
  
“Okay, turn ‘em around and go the other way,” Anya instructed from the center of the pen.  
  
Both Clarke and Raven pulled the reins and instructed their horses to turn. Surprisingly, both horses followed their rider’s instructions and changed directions without a fuss.  
  
Anya let them follow that path for a while before she shouted another instruction at them. Lexa, Octavia, and Lincoln sat on the gate watching in awe as riding instructor Anya came out to play.  
  
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her teach a class,” Lincoln said. “I forgot how good she was at it.”  
  
“Me too,” Lexa agreed.  
  
  
The rest of the afternoon and into early evening was spent teaching Raven and Clarke different riding techniques. Although, Raven had taken to it a little slower than Clarke, both girls looked fairly comfortable in the saddle by the end of the day. So much so that Lincoln had even given them a short beginner roping lesson. Neither actually hit their target a single time but they had a lot of fun.  
  
After the horses were cleaned up, fed, and put in their stalls, Clarke, Lexa, Octavia, and Raven exited the barn, into the warm night air. It had been sunset when they had went to put the horses away but it was completely dark out now. The humidity of the day had finally broken and the wind that normally blew Clarke’s blonde hair every direction had died down to a cool breeze. Although it felt good after the heat of the day, it made her shiver because of the light layer of sweat still resting on her newly tanned skin.  
  
Lexa wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they walked towards the house, noticing every detail per normal. As they walked up to the house, Clarke noticed a dim orange glow coming from the back and when they got closer, she started to smell the comforting aroma of wood burning. When they rounded the back side of the house, they found Lincoln and Anya sitting around a small fire pit, talking quietly. Lincoln poked at a large log in the flames with a stick as they approached and the fire crackled angrily.  
  
“We thought it was a good night for a fire,” Lincoln said as the quartet joined them.  
  
The four women sat down in the comfy deck chairs that sat strategically around the fire pit. Raven sighed dramatically as she kicked her feet up on a small log.  
  
“I’m not going to be able to walk tomorrow,” she complained.  
  
“You’ll be a little sore for sure,” Lincoln agreed as he continued to play with the log that was burning.  
  
An easy quiet fell over the group as they watched Lincoln arrange another piece of wood into the fire pit. The sound of the crickets and the frogs was in surround sound, interrupting the otherwise quiet of the night. Clarke noticed Lexa’s ears perk up when the sound of a coyote howling broke through the wind. It sounded far off but Lexa immediately pinpointed the direction and looked that way, as if she could see farther than twenty yards into the pitch black of the night.  
  
“You keeping an eye on that pack?” She asked Lincoln who had finally won his battle with the log and was now digging through a cooler.  
  
He pulled out a beer for himself and then handed one to Anya before shoving the entire cooler towards Octavia. “Yeah, I talked to Indra yesterday. She spotted them circling the back side of the property two nights ago but they don’t seem to be coming in towards the herd.”  
  
“I love when we can live in harmony with nature,” Lexa joked as the cooler got passed to her feet and she took out a beer for herself and Clarke.  
  
“For now,” Lincoln said as he sat back in his chair and admired his handiwork with the fire.  
  
An easy conversation started up about Raven and Clarke’s first week on the ranch, which led into stories about the other four growing up on ranches. The group laughed together as the beers were consumed freely and the night grew darker.  
  
Clarke only noticed that it had grown later when she saw Gus’ headlights coming up the long driveway. He had worked an evening shift at the factory which let Clarke know that it had to be close to ten p.m.  
  
“And then, Lincoln fell off the right side of her and that filly drug Lincoln for at least fifty yards before we could catch up to her,” Anya spat through laughter that brought tears to her eyes. She had definitely had more to drink than the rest of the group.  
  
Lexa was laughing along with her sister’s story and while it was more reserved than Anya’s full belly laugh, Clarke could see a certain joy in Lexa’s eyes. She knew that this was where Lexa felt the most comfortable and she felt so privileged to get to see this side of this complicated, shy woman. She was lost in thought and definitely staring at Lexa like a full on creep when Lincoln’s booming voice interrupted her thoughts.  
  
“Laugh it up,” he said. “I hurt for a week after that.”  
  
“You shouldn’t have been talking all that stuff about ‘taming the wildest filly this side of the Mississippi River,’” Lexa mocked, doing her best impression of Lincoln.  
  
“Oh, speaking of taming wild fillies!” Lincoln said, pointing an accusing finger at Lexa. “What about the time Old Man Rivers caught you with his daughter in the barn?”  
  
Lexa looked like a deer in headlights as her laughter stopped immediately and a blush formed on her cheeks so fiercely that Clarke could see it even with just the firelight.  
  
“Oh, I’ve gotta hear this!” Clarke said excitedly, sitting up in her chair.  
  
“You really don’t,” Lexa said. “Night Uncle Gus!” She shouted at the man who had just climbed out of his truck, looking exhausted. He had on dark blue work pants and a matching shirt. Clarke could only see him because the light inside his truck was still on as he reached for his lunchbox in the passenger seat.  
  
He lifted a dirty hand and waved at the group. “Night kids. Don’t get into too much trouble.” With no more words, he closed his truck door and melded into the darkness. They could only hear the sound of his heavy boot falls on the porch and then the back door of the house swinging open and then shut with a bang.  
  
“Remember when Anya almost missed Prom because she was grounded for sneaking out of the house?” Lexa asked, desperately trying to change the subject.  
  
“Oh no, no. We want to hear about young Lexa’s adventures in meeting the parents,” Raven said with a playful smirk.  
  
Lexa groaned and Lincoln laughed as he started to tell the story. “The Rivers family lives on the other side of Indra’s ranch. A dozen miles or so up the road,” Lincoln explained, absentmindedly pointing in the direction that the ranch would be located. “They had a few kids but the closest in age to us was Luna. She was what? Two years younger than us?” Lincoln asked Lexa who simply hummed her agreement.  
  
“Well, Luna used to compete in the Barrell racing events at the community Saddle Club and we would hang out all the time there so we all got close. Especially Luna and Lexa. So, one night we had a big party at the Rivers’ ranch to celebrate Luna’s birthday. Her parents are really chill about drinking and stuff as long as you don’t try to drive, so we were all partying in the barn loft. I don’t know if it was the drinking or what but next thing we know Lexa and Luna are all over each other. About halfway through the night they disappeared together and we all knew what was going on and didn’t dare walk downstairs, but apparently Luna’s father aka Old Man Rivers, didn’t get the message. He decided to come out to check on the horses one more time before he went to bed.” Lincoln paused the story to add a level of anticipation.  
  
“Well!” Raven said expectantly. Her and Clarke were both sitting straight up in their chairs, hanging on every word of Lincoln’s story.  
  
Lincoln was already starting to laugh as he finished. “Mr. Rivers caught Lex and Luna going at it in one of the stalls with Lex’s blue jeans around her ankles!” Lincoln was almost crying with laughter now. “We all heard Luna shriek and then Mr. Rivers screaming, so we all ran to look out the hay door of the loft and all we saw was Lexa running out of the barn as hard as she could go. All you could see was her ass and elbows as she took off down the driveway, holding her jeans up as she went!” Lincoln was rolling with laughter and everyone else had actual tears forming from their laughter now. “Mr. Rivers came right out behind her waving a pitchfork!” Lincoln struggled out through bouts of laughter. “He was screaming about how he never wanted to see her on his land again. Which was all talk because we all helped him hay every year for the summer. He called Lex every name under the sun as she ran down that driveway like Usain Bolt.”  
  
Clarke was trying not to laugh too hard but the story was funny and she grabbed Lexa’s hand to try to ease her embarrassment some. “I hope it wasn’t too bad of names,” Clarke said.  
  
“Oh nah, nothing he wouldn’t have called anyone else he caught with his daughters. The Rivers are actually one of the few liberal-ish families in this area. It didn’t matter so much that Lexa was a girl, just that she was defiling his daughter in front of him and his horses.” Lincoln laughed.  
  
“I still can’t look that man in the eye,” Lexa sighed.  
  
“By the time me and Nyko caught up to her, she had ran over six miles! She was halfway home and her belt was still undone!” At this point, Lincoln had completely lost it and had fallen out of his chair and onto the grass in front of it.  
  
Anya had her head thrown back and was cackling at the story that she had heard a million times and Octavia and Raven were holding onto each other as they laughed loudly.  
  
Clarke was trying her hardest to not bust into her own fit of laughter as she checked to make sure Lexa wasn’t overly embarrassed but when they made eye contact, she received a gentle smirk from Lexa that let Clarke know she was okay with them having a laugh at her expense. “Babe, I thought you competed in rodeo, not ran track,” Clarke laughed with a gentle pat on Lexa’s leg.  
  
Lexa shrugged, “I’m generally athletic. But all y’all would be running too if a six foot four, two hundred and fifty pound man in overalls was chasing you out of a barn with a pitchfork! You’d be amazed what you can do when you have that type of motivation.”  
  
“You’ve got to stop, you’re killing me!” Raven said as she held her stomach, which was cramping from laughter.  
  
The laughter slowly died out over the several minutes following and the crackling of the fire and the sound of the bugs and frogs took back over. The group sat in comfortable silence for so long that Clarke was actually surprised when she heard the soft strumming of a guitar. She opened her eyes and looked up from where her head was rested on the back of her chair. Directly across the fire from her, Lincoln seemed to have made a guitar appear out of thin air. The guitar was old and worn but still made beautiful music as Lincoln absentmindedly plucked at the strings.  
  
He started humming a song that she had never heard before with the rhythm of the guitar and eventually started to sing. His voice was deep and gravely but Clarke thought it was actually a good singing voice.

“How long has it taken me to find you?  
Five hundred year, five hundred thousand miles”

Clarke felt Lexa’s warm hand slip into her own and grip it tightly. She met eyes with the girl and felt those giant butterflies in her stomach as Lexa wore a soft smile.

“It don't matter now, love's always on time  
Meet me underneath the Oklahoma sky”

Clarke scooted as close as she could to Lexa from separate chairs and sighed happily when Lexa wrapped a strong arm around her shoulders. She rested her head on Lexa’s chest and felt soft lips press a kiss to the top of her head.

“Lightening flashed, everything went silence  
A feather could have knocked me to the floor”

Across the fire, Raven had abandoned her stubborn ways and had happily slid to the ground in front of Octavia’s chair. She sat between the girl’s legs with her back against the chair and smiled contently when Octavia wrapped her arms around her neck and rested her chin on top of Raven’s head.

“A missing piece was found I was finally alive  
Meet me underneath the Oklahoma sky”

Anya let her head rest on the back of her chair and looked up into the wide open sky with a mysterious look on her face. She bet she could see a billion stars from where she sat on this ranch but one star in particular was on her mind.

“With the speed of sound  
I am homeward bound”

Lincoln was concentrating on the chords as he seamlessly switched from one to another as if it was second nature. The song sounded classic as his thick country accent was seeping into every lyric, making Clarke feel like she was in an old western movie. She felt like one of the cattle drivers after a long day in the fields, enjoying a cold beer and music by a campfire.

“All our sorrows swept away forever  
Each and every tear washed out to sea”

Octavia swayed back and forth softly, Raven following along subconsciously. At some point, their hands had interlocked over Raven’s chest and Octavia snuck a kiss to her cheek.

“There ain't no good-bye, with your hand in mine”

Clarke felt Lexa’s lips move closer to her ear and felt tears slip into her eyes as Lexa sang the next line with Lincoln. “Meet me underneath the Oklahoma Sky.”

In that moment, it was just the two of them. Clarke looked up into Lexa’s suntanned face that had an amazing glow thanks to the fire. The look they shared was intense and no amount of words could take the place of the conversation they were having with their eyes. Clarke felt a tear slip down her cheek and Lexa caught it with her free hand, wiping it away with her thumb. Clarke welcomed the chaste kiss that Lexa placed on her lips but frowned when Lexa pulled back. All she wanted was to spend the entire summer with those lips on hers but she knew that wasn’t realistic, so she dropped her head back to Lexa’s shoulder and turned her attention back to Lincoln. He was just slowly picking the guitar now, a beautiful tune that seemed to be more of a combination of songs than one in particular.

Clarke sighed and breathed in the fresh air as a strong breeze passed through. For a brief moment the thought crossed her mind that she was exactly where she wanted to be and maybe she never wanted to leave Oklahoma, but the idea blew away with the breeze and Clarke just tuned back into Lincoln’s humming. Before she knew it she had slowly drifted off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone curious, the song is Oklahoma Sky originally performed by Miranda Lambert :)
> 
> I hope you lovely people enjoyed reading this and as always, I would love to hear your thoughts, concerns, theories, and ideas for future chapters :) 
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello you beautiful people! This chapter has been in the works for two months now and to be completely honest, stylistically, it's not my favorite chapter I've ever written by a long shot. BUT I've worked on it and worked on it to the point, I either have to get past how particular I am or I trash the whole chapter and the latter just wasn't an option for me. So, long story short, I hope you enjoy this. 
> 
> Also, I may need to do a trigger warning on this chapter in regards to animals. There's nothing graphic or violent, but this chapter is sad and is probably one of the darker chapters you'll see in this story. I can't say much more without giving it away. So, if you're worried that you could be triggered, please feel free to reach out to me here or on Tumblr and I will fill you in on what happens.

They were into their third week on the ranch and it had been the longest day yet.  A storm the night before had taken out a large section of fence on the south side of the ranch and Octavia, Clarke, and Raven had spent all day counting cattle to make sure none had gotten loose; while Lincoln, Lexa, and Anya repaired the fence.  Clarke was saddle sore and exhausted and had fallen asleep counting cows instead of sheep that night.  She was sound asleep and dreaming of a lake day with Lexa when she heard the unfamiliar sound of Lexa’s cell phone ringing.  She must have heard it first because Lexa, who was normally a light sleeper, was still snoring quietly beside her.  She looked at the alarm clock on the nightstand and squinted her eyes to make out the red numbers that read twelve a.m.  Who could be calling so late?

 

“Lex,” Clarke said as she gently nudged Lexa.

 

Lexa slowly opened her eyes just as the phone stopped ringing.  “What’s wrong babe?” Lexa asked sleepily as she wrapped an arm around Clarke and pulled her close, nuzzling into her chest.

 

“Your phone was-,” Clarke started but the tone of Lexa’s cell phone ringing again, interrupted her.

 

The noise reached Lexa’s ears this time, and she turned over to grab the phone.  “Hello,” she answered, her voice still gravely from sleep.

 

Clarke could barely hear a murmur on the other side of the phone but when Lexa suddenly stiffened and sat straight up in bed, she knew something was wrong.  

 

“I’m getting dressed.  I’ll be down in five,” Lexa said shortly before hanging up on the caller.  She got out of bed, saying nothing and dug through her clothes.

 

“Who was that?  What’s wrong Lexa?” Clarke asked worriedly.

 

“It was Lincoln,” Lexa said as she pulled a pair of jeans on.  “Indra has a horse down.  We have to go help.”

 

Clarke immediately got out of bed and started getting ready.

 

“Clarke, you don’t have to go.  You’re tired.  You should stay and sleep,” Lexa said sweetly.  She was buttoning a plaid shirt over her white tank top as she spoke.

 

Clarke, however, shrugged as she slid into a pair of jeans and a long sleeve t-shirt.  “If you’re going, I’m going.  You may need an extra pair of hands.”

 

Lexa smiled softly and nodded, knowing better than to argue with her stubborn girlfriend.  She padded softly into the living room with Clarke on her heels.  The two women quickly slid their boots on and Lexa grabbed her cowboy hat as they exited the loft apartment.  

 

At the bottom of the stairs, they passed one of the ranch dogs, a blue heeler named Star.  Clarke had gotten close to the dog over the last couple weeks and the pup perked her ears up and rose to her feet when the couple passed.  Clarke patted the dog on the head and Star quickly fell into step with her.  She followed Clarke and Lexa all the way to the driveway where Lincoln was standing by his pickup truck which was idling loudly in the otherwise quiet night.

 

As they reached the truck and Lexa opened the door for Clarke, she seemed to just notice the dog at their feet.  She was looking up at Lexa pitifully as if she was asking permission to tag along.  “Well come on then,” Lexa sighed and nodded her head towards the truck.  The permission was all Star needed, and she happily hopped into the truck and sat in the back seat, next to Clarke, obediently.  Both Lexa and Lincoln climbed in the truck and it was in gear and rolling before anyone spoke.

 

“What happened?” Lexa asked as Lincoln sped down the driveway.

 

“Not sure.  Indra called me because she knew dad’s at work.  She said she heard the horses raising hell and went out to check on things.  She was worried it was a coyote or something.  She said she got out there and Dottie was down and the other horses were around her panicking.”

 

“She’s a young mare, right?” Lexa asked.

 

Lincoln nodded.  “Only about five years old.  Indra just started saddle breaking her about six months ago.”

 

Lexa hummed in thought but asked no more questions.

 

Clarke had quickly realized that being next-door neighbors in Oklahoma meant something different from Los Angeles and even Nashville.  The drive from Lexa’s driveway to Indra’s was a little over two miles and most of it was in silence.  Star had laid her head in Clarke’s lap and was enjoying Clarke’s scratches behind her ear. However, when the truck came to a stop in front of Indra’s barn, the pup sat straight up in the seat to look around.  Lincoln and Lexa got out of the truck first and Lexa opened the door for Clarke before she could get to the handle.  Star jumped out first and immediately sniffed around, recognizing the smells of the neighboring ranch immediately.

 

Clarke climbed out of the truck and looked around.  It was dark and she couldn’t see much but she could tell right away that Indra’s ranch was smaller than the Woods’ ranch.  Her house was a simple farmhouse with a large front porch.  There was only one large barn that Clarke could see, directly in front of the truck.  She noticed a light coming from the back and followed Lincoln and Lexa as they made their way towards it.

 

As they rounded the back of the barn, Clarke saw Indra standing over a large white horse with a black mane and black spots along its backside.  She feared the worse when she noticed Indra had her head rested in one of her hands, looking tired and broken.  When they got closer, however, she could see the slow rise and fall of the horse’s belly.  She breathed a sigh of relief, glad that there was still hope.

 

“What’s going on Indra?” Lexa asked as they approached.

 

The older woman looked at her and sighed. Clarke noted right away that Indra looked tired.  It was more than just, awoken in the middle of the night, tired.  She had large bags under her eyes and it looked like she didn’t have much left to give.  Clarke hadn’t considered until just now that while Gus had Lincoln and Lexa and even Anya, occasionally, to help run his ranch, Indra had no one.  Both of her children were away at college and she was having to run her ranch, which was only slightly smaller than Gus’, on her own.

 

“I don’t know what it is kids.  I can’t see any external injuries.  I checked her legs the best I could on my own.  No bites, cuts, or breaks I can see or feel.  She’s not showing any exterior symptoms of colic.”  Indra looked dumbfounded as she looked at the large horse.

 

Lexa pulled a flashlight out of her back pocket and sat down on the ground in front of the horse’s head.  She shined the flashlight in each of her eyes and waited for a reaction.  She then checked her nose and pulled her lips up to check her teeth and gums.  Dottie eventually pulled her head away, irritated that Lexa was messing with her.  

 

“Nothing seems wrong at first glance,” Lexa said, putting the small flashlight back in her pocket.  “You think she laid on her legs too long and lost the feeling?”

 

Indra shrugged.  “Maybe.  We can try to get her on her feet.”

 

Everyone nodded and took a place along the horse’s body.  Lexa was at her shoulder and Lincoln was at her butt, with Clarke positioned in the middle at her back.  Indra stood at Dottie’s head, hands wrapped tight around the purple halter there.  

 

“Ready?” Lincoln asked.  When everyone nodded, he counted.  “1, 2, 3, GO!”

 

Lincoln, Lexa, and Clarke pushed with all of their might, while Indra pulled on the horses’ halter, trying to encourage her to stand.  They were all grunting and groaning as they tried to get the one thousand pound animal to move but she barely budged.  Finally, just as Clarke was about to suggest a break, Dottie slowly moved her feet and stood up.  She looked unstable at first and like she was about to lay back down so Lincoln ran around and grabbed the lead rope from Indra, pulling Dottie along behind him. She didn’t look happy about being forced to walk but Lincoln seemed to be content with the progress.  

 

“Is this good?” Clarke asked Lexa. 

 

“It’s a good sign.  At least now I can fully check her out and see if we can figure out what’s wrong,” Lexa said.

 

“How do you know all this?” Clarke asked.

 

Lexa shrugged.  “I’ve been around livestock my whole life.  You learn a thing or two.  I can’t do anything crazy but I know the basics.”

 

Clarke grew endlessly impressed with her girlfriend every day as she watched her work on the ranch, and as tired as she was, she enjoyed learning about this facet of Lexa’s person as she watched her walk to the barn with Indra to gather supplies.  She could hear Lincoln talking to the horse calmly as they made large circles around where Clarke was standing.  Lexa was out of view so Clarke focused on the pair as they walked behind her.  She could just barely make out Lincoln’s words but she could hear enough to know that he was encouraging Dottie to keep walking.  She marveled at the contrast between Lincoln’s outer demeanor and his gentleness and wondered how she was lucky enough to get to know the Woods family.

 

She was still lost in those thought when Lexa and Indra rejoined her. 

 

“Bring her on over Linc,” Lexa called as she pulled a glove onto her hand that stretched all the way up to her shoulder.  Clarke scrunched her eyebrows.  She wasn’t from a farm but she had an idea what that was for.  Lexa noticed the look on her face and smiled.  “It’s not glamorous but we have to check her temperature and make sure there’s no internal bleeding.”

 

Clarke nodded as Lincoln approached them and stopped when the horse was directly in front of Lexa.  “You want head or tail duty?” Lincoln asked her.

 

“Uh, Head?”  

 

“Head it is.  Come here.”  Clarke walked over to Lincoln and took the lead rope he offered her.  “Just hold on tight and talk to her.  Keep her calm,” Lincoln instructed. 

 

Clarke took the lead rope and held onto it tightly as she rubbed the horse’s nose and spoke in a low, gentle tone.   She could see Lexa on the other end of the horse moving into position as Lincoln pulled Dottie’s tail to the side.  

 

The one small light that lit up the area they were in did nothing to illuminate Lexa’s face because of the wide brim of her cowboy hat, but even still, Clarke could see the grimace on Lexa’s face as she went about her task.  Lexa was shoulder deep in the horse for less than a minute before she removed her arm and threw the glove away.

 

“Temperature is a little high,” Lexa said.  “Otherwise, nothing seemed off.”  Lexa stood beside Clarke as she observed the horse quietly.  Clarke could see the frustration growing on her face as she listened to Lincoln and Indra discuss potential issues.

 

Dottie was growing restless and eventually one of her legs buckled and she slowly laid back down.  No one tried to stop her, and she met the ground with a thud, sighing softly.  

 

Clarke kneeled beside Dottie and patted her large jaw.  “What can we do?” She asked, looking up at Lexa.

 

Lexa shook her head.  “There’s nothing we can do until the vet gets here.  If we don’t know what’s wrong, we can’t treat her.”

 

“We can keep her up some though to avoid intensional issues,” Lincoln suggested.  

 

Lexa nodded and moved to the horses back next to Lincoln.  Indra joined them and on Lexa’s count, they pushed until Dottie was sitting up more.  Once she was where they wanted her, Lincoln immediately sat down on the ground, supporting the horse’s weight with his body.  Lexa joined him to take some of the pressure off.  

 

Indra was getting into position to join them when her phone rang.  She held up a finger to the group and stepped away to answer the call.  

 

“It’s a good thing she’s not a huge mare,” Lincoln grunted sarcastically as he shifted his weight a little to get more comfortable.  

 

Lexa only nodded and looked down towards Clarke who was rubbing Dottie’s head gently as Star settled in at her legs.  Clarke looked up at her and the soft question in Lexa’s eyes seemed to transfer to Clarke telepathically.  

 

“I’m just keeping her company,” Clarke explained and Lexa smiled softly at her girlfriend’s big heart.

 

Indra suddenly came back into view and sighed.  “That was Dr. Miller.  He’s on his way home from a conference in Texas.  It’ll be hours before he’s back in town.”

 

“So what do we do?” Clarke asked.

 

Lexa sighed and smiled gently.  “We wait.”

 

And wait they did.  The minutes seemed to drag on and on and Dottie only seemed to get more tired and less willing to cooperate.  She pushed hard on Lincoln and Lexa who were struggling to keep her sitting up by themselves.  Around two thirty a.m. Clarke got excited when she saw a pair of headlights approaching them down Indra’s driveway.  The lights disappeared behind the barn and Clarke could hear three door’s slam before three familiar forms came into view.  Star jumped up from Clarke’s feet and growled at the newcomers, unable to identify them in the dark.  She placed herself between the figures and Clarke as if she was protecting her new favorite person.  

 

When they got close enough for the light to hit them, Clarke recognized them immediately.  Anya led the group with Raven and Octavia close on her heels.  

 

“Easy Cujo,” Anya said dryly as she approached.  Star seemed to recognize her voice and backed down, plopping down at Clarke’s feet again.

 

“Scoot over,” Octavia said as soon as she walked up.  Lexa and Lincoln scooted opposite ways and Octavia squeezed in between them.  The cousins sighed as Octavia relieved some of the load from their backs.  

 

“We brought coffee,” Raven said as she held up a dark green thermos.  

 

Lincoln immediately reached for it and groaned in excitement when the hot liquid reached his taste buds.  

 

“We heard it would be a long night,” Octavia said.

 

“Where’s Indra?”  Anya asked, noticing the older woman’s absence.

 

“She was exhausted,” Lexa said.  “There’s nothing she can do til Doc arrives, so we sent her in to get sleep.”

 

Anya nodded and took the thermos from Lincoln’s hands before he could take another giant swig and passed it to Lexa.  She sat down next to Lexa, ignoring Lincoln’s protests about the coffee and pushed up against the horse, adding another body hoping to distribute the weight more evenly.  There was no more room left against the horse so Raven sat on the ground at Octavia’s feet and absentmindedly played with a piece of leather hanging off Octavia’s worn cowboy boots.

 

“Any idea what’s going on?” Octavia asked.

 

Both Lincoln and Lexa shook their heads.  “Nothing we can identify,” Lexa said.  

 

“She seems tired,” Clarke blurted.  She wasn’t looking at the group but at the large eyes of the horse.  They looked back into Clarke’s own and drooped heavily.  

 

“Well, if that’s the case,” Lincoln said.  “Rest up big girl.  We’re not going anywhere.”  He patted the horse gently on her back and let his head fall back onto her side.  

 

The night passed slowly as they waited on the vet to arrive.  It was an odd feeling because the group talked and laughed and distracted one another from the current predicament but there was an overwhelming sense of doom in every moment that passed that Dottie didn’t attempt to stand.  Every forty-five minutes, the group would work together to get Dottie on her feet and force her to walk a little.  They took turns trying to get her to eat, drink, or walk on her own.  

 

Sometimes she would get up more willingly than other times, but she would never accept the food or drink from anyone except one handful she accepted from Clarke.  

 

As daylight broke, it became more and more worrisome that Dottie wasn’t making efforts on her own.  The group had to force her to get up every time and the time she would stay on her feet was decreasing.  

 

Around six a.m., a group of Indra’s horses had wandered up to the group and were looking at them curiously.  Dottie seemed to sense the other horses’ presence and looked up to them tiredly.  Then, to everyone’s amazement, she tried for the first time to get up on her own.  The process was slow and everyone had to help her but eventually Dottie made it to her feet.  She looked like a young foal at first, her weak legs struggling under the weight of her heavy body but eventually she found her footing and attempted to walk towards the group of horses across the fence row.  It was slow and wobbly but it was progress.

 

She could only make it a few feet before Clarke holding her lead rope stopped her.  She looked back at Clarke and Clarke’s heart ached for the look that Dottie gave her.  She didn’t know if horses were capable of real emotions but she looked so sad that it broke Clarke’s heart.  “What should I do?”  Clarke asked Lexa.  

 

Lexa could tell Clarke was struggling and took the lead from her hands.  She led the horse around the small area, several times.  Dottie followed slowly and ungracefully behind Lexa as if proving a point.

 

Indra came out of the house just as Lexa was finishing up the last lap.  “She’s looking better,” she noted.

 

“It seems that way,” Lexa said, looking Dottie over curiously.  “She’s acting like she wants to go be with the other horses.”

 

Indra hummed thoughtfully.  “I closed the gate last night before I called y’all over.  I guess we’ll turn her loose and see how she does.”

 

Lexa nodded and led Dottie over to the gate, opening it enough for them to enter.  Once inside, she removed the lead rope from Dottie’s halter and patted her shoulder.  Dottie huffed quietly and turned her back on Lexa, slowly walking toward the rest of the horses in the pasture.  Lexa rejoined everyone else who were all watching Dottie curiously.  She stood next to Clarke and wrapped her arm around Clarke’s waist.  Clarke rested her head on Lexa’s shoulder as the exhaustion crept into her body.

 

“You kids should head home,” Indra said, never taking her eyes off the mare.  “Doc should be here any minute and there’s no more you can do.  I appreciate all your help.”

 

“If you need anything else, just call,” Lincoln said as he patted Indra’s shoulder.

 

They all said goodbye to Indra before loading up in Lincoln’s truck and Anya’s Jeep and heading home.  Clarke had almost fallen asleep in the backseat of Lincoln’s truck on the short ride back.  Star must have felt the wear of the night’s events too because she was laying quietly in Clarke’s lap.

 

“We’re here babe.”  Lexa’s gentle urging startled Clarke, and she sat up too quickly for Star’s liking, causing the pup to huff loudly.

 

“Sorry, I dozed off,” Clarke yawned.

 

“It’s okay.  Come on, we have nothing to do today except feed and it can wait ‘til the afternoon.”

 

Clarke nodded sleepily as Lexa opened the back door of the truck and Star hopped out.  She followed the dog out of the truck, dragging her tired body behind.  She leaned into Lexa heavily as they walked towards the barn and up the stairs to Lexa’s apartment.  She peeled her clothes off quickly and sighed in delight when she flopped onto the soft bed.  “I’m so exhausted,” she groaned into her pillow.

 

Lexa hummed her agreement as she slowly undressed and placed her dirty clothes in the hamper.  She eased into the bed next to Clarke and the blonde sighed as she felt Lexa’s warm, firm body melt into hers.  

 

She felt Lexa place a kiss on the back of her head and was out in moments.  The next time Clarke awoke, it was to Lexa’s voice.  She opened her eyes slowly and had to squint at the bright sunlight shining in through Lexa’s window.  She found Lexa sitting at the end of the bed with her back to Clarke.  She looked as tired as Clarke still felt.  She was bent over, with her head in her left hand and her phone pressed to her ear.  Clarke couldn’t see her face but she could hear a hint of something extra in Lexa’s normally calm voice.  

 

“And what’d he say?” Lexa said in hushed tones.

 

Clarke couldn’t hear the voice on the other end of the line.

 

“Shit,” Lexa mumbled.  “I can get dressed and come too.”

 

Lexa grew quiet again as the person on the other end of the line spoke.  Clarke watched as Lexa rubbed the back of her neck with her free hand.  

 

“Okay, let me know if you need me.  Bye,” Lexa said, hanging up the phone and dropping her head.

 

Clarke watched Lexa for a moment before speaking gently.  “What’s wrong babe?”

 

Clarke’s voice seemed to startle Lexa, and she wiped at her face quickly before turning to face her girlfriend.  Clarke could have sworn Lexa was wiping away a stray tear, but she didn’t point it out.  “Hey, did I wake you?”

 

“I noticed you weren’t cuddling me,” Clarke said.

 

“I’m sorry.”  Lexa placed her phone on the nightstand and crawled back under the covers, pulling Clarke’s warm body into her own.

 

“What’s going on Lex?  I know something’s wrong.”

 

Lexa’s chin was resting on top of Clarke’s head in their current position and she nodded gently.  She waited a moment before pulling back and looking into Clarke’s blue eyes.  She cleared her throat.  “The vet got to Indra’s about an hour after we left this morning.  They went out to the field to check on Dottie but she, uh, she didn’t make it Clarke.”

 

Large tears welled in Clarke’s eyes as Lexa’s words sunk in.  “But she seemed better this morning.”

 

Lexa nodded sadly, unable to explain the situation.  “Indra said the vet would have to do an autopsy to know more, and she didn’t want to have to go through all that.  He took blood samples and stuff to make sure it wasn’t anything that will affect her other horses but Lincoln and Uncle Gus are heading over to help bury her now.”

 

“We should go,” Clarke blurted, shooting up out of the bed and wiping the tears from her face.

 

“Clarke,” Lexa whispered.

 

Clarke ignored her and continued looking for the clothes she had worn earlier which were scattered about on her side of the bed.  

 

“Clarke,” Lexa said more sharply this time, getting her attention.  “Come back to bed,” she coaxed.  “There’s nothing we can do.”

 

“We could help bury her,” Clarke said sadly.

 

“If you want to go, we can; but Mr. Rivers is bringing a backhoe from his ranch and Lincoln and Uncle Gus are taking the tractor over to help move her.  There’s really nothing we can do.”

 

The tears were back in Clarke’s eyes and she was falling into bed with Lexa suddenly.  Lexa barely had time to react, but she managed to get her arms around Clarke and pulled her close as she sobbed into Lexa’s chest.  Lexa had felt the pain of losing an animal before too many times to count but seeing Clarke so upset was pulling at her heartstrings and she let a few of her own tears fall into Clarke’s blonde hair.

 

It was a long time before Clarke’s sobs slowed down and there was more time between her sniffles.  She mumbled something quietly and Lexa strained to hear her, without success.

 

“What did you say, darling?”

 

“I told her she would be okay,” Clarke said through sniffles.

 

Lexa paused at the admission and her heart broke for her gentle girlfriend.  In her mind, she knew there was no way the horse understood what Clarke had said to her but the fact that Clarke was upset about this was one of her favorite things about the girl.  “You couldn’t have known it would go this way,” Lexa said finally.

 

“I know it seems silly but I feel like I lied to her.  I told her she would be okay and back running with the other horses in no time and she isn’t,” Clarke sniffled again.

 

“It’s not silly,” Lexa corrected.  “Maybe you encouraging her is what helped her make it through the night and gave her the energy to have one last walk with her pasture mates this morning,” she offered.

 

This seemed to calm Clarke so Lexa continued.  “You sat with her all night, talking to her and comforting her.  You made her last few hours, which could have been cold and lonely, easy and warm.”

 

Clarke nodded into her chest and let a small sob slip out.  She looked up at Lexa and her blue eyes were rimmed with red from her tears and her cheeks were pink from crying.  “I know you don’t believe that animals understand us, but I love you so much more for saying that.”  She placed a wet kiss on Lexa’s cheek.

 

“I may not believe that animals understand our words, but they understand our actions and body language.  Dottie felt relaxed and comforted by you last night.  She may not have understood the words, but she understood what you were saying.”  She accepted the warm, wet kiss that Clarke planted on her lips and pulled Clarke’s body impossibly closer.

 

They lay like that for a long time and at some point Clarke cried herself to sleep.  Lexa lay awake staring at the clock on Clarke’s nightstand until she finally dozed off herself.  

 

When she woke up several hours later, Clarke was still snuggled into her front, snoring quietly.  Her eyes landed on the same clock she had fallen asleep staring at and the big red letters read three pm.  She groaned quietly at letting herself sleep so long.  It made her feel lazy and like she had wasted her day but the feeling of Clarke’s breath on her neck chased the regrets away easily.  

 

She slid out from under Clarke, watching as she cuddled with Lexa’s pillow, an adorable pout appearing on her face.  She paused briefly to watch Clarke sleep before exiting the room searching for a solid plan to cheer everyone up.  Once she had brewed a pot of coffee and had enough caffeine in her system to make her feel human, the idea came easily to Lexa.  A night on the town would do them all some good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I hope you enjoyed that one! I hope to push out the next one faster and we're going to pick up a little speed. Next chapter is a night out on town and we'll get a little rowdy and awkward at times and then the next chapter, we'll get some sexy Clarke and Lexa time (mildly sexy, I'm garbage at smut so I'm not even going to try), and then we'll see Lexa back in chaps and on a bull again, which I know you guys have been waiting for! So, I would love your feedback on this chapter and to know you guys are still here.


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